


Life isn't always roses

by Ashratherose



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 2 ish years age gap, Bullying, Drinking, Drug Use, Grishas an arsehole, Highschool AU, Homophobic speech, Jeans also a bad guy, M/M, Prostitution, Rape, Self Harm, Torture, Trigger Warnings, carlas dead, he blames eren, noncon, this was a quick one shot... the hell happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 03:15:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 30,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9529364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashratherose/pseuds/Ashratherose
Summary: High school AUWhere Eren isn't having the best time. His dads abused him for years and he has a crush on the most popular guy in school... who turns his life upside trying to help.Basically Eren's a self destructive mess trying to survive and Levi doesn't want him to crumble





	1. Chapter 1

I love to watch the blood as it rushes to the surface, the lines deep enough to hurt, but not deep enough to scar... not that it'd matter if they did. No one will ever love a boy who killed his mother.

Grisha had made that clear.

When I was 8 my mother saved my life, our house had begun to crumble in an earthquake and she'd pushed me away... she pushed me away and died under the weight of the crumbling house. After that everything changed.

Grisha had been a kind and loving father, I remember the way he'd make my mother laugh, she was never as happy, as when he was around. After the accident however, alcohol and drugs. Grisha let himself drown in them, his only outlet the pain he inflicted on me. And so, as crazy as it seems, I cut. I cut for that moment of numbness, where my brain finally stops, my thoughts settle and I finally stop feeling.

It's foolish but I still hope one day the father I knew would return. It's been 7 years since then. 7 years and now almost every inch of my body was scarred. It was different when it first happened, I didn't know any better. I thought that this was normal, that my family was normal. It wasn't until a couple of years ago I learnt any different, but by then, there was no reason to fight.

And so I sit here cutting, ignoring the fact the front door just opened. Ignoring the fact that any moment he'll be in my room. Ignoring the fact in a few hours my already bruised body will be even more broken.

Grisha stumbled into my room, I dropped the knife I'd been using. He knew I cut, he just didn't care. I deserved it after all.  
"Strip!"  
I shudder knowing what will come next. It didn't take much to strip, I was in my shirt and boxers after all  
"On your stomach!"  
I obey. 

The knife slices through my skin easily. My lower backs soon shredded. I'll have to wear dark clothes tomorrow. It's sad when you have to plan your whole wardrobe around the risk of how much you'll bleed.

He parts my legs and I know what comes next. I tell myself I'm lucky He's alone today, it's not always the case. It's gotten to the point I don't even feel it anymore, my mind drifts away. I think I have math homework and hope I'll be able to move enough after this.

Grisha doesn't take long. He never does, I suppose that's one small concession.  
"Clean up you disgusting faggot"  
I make no move to move. I can't. He's done too much of a job on my back. I hear Grisha move away and fear what's coming. He's only done it a few times, but still... this I fear above all. I turn my head and try to move, a moan falling from my lips, but strangely no tears are in my eyes. I'm too used to this. Grisha returns and laughs at my struggles. I close my eyes and bite my hand as he pours freshly boiled water over my back. 

Grisha says nothing before leaving. Its now the tears begin to form. Mum, why did you have to die? It should have been me? I can't stay awake and let myself fall into the darkness.

*  
Outsides dark by the time I force my eyes open. I force myself to move, ignoring the pain. My legs were shaking badly as I pushed myself towards the bathroom. Don't cry Eren, you deserve this.

I crank the cold water tap, it's too late to help the burn, I can feel the blisters with every step. School tomorrow will be fun. The cold water bites into my skin and soon I'm shivering under the flowing water. Still I stay there, I want nothing than to turn the hot to full and scrub away my fathers touches, but it's important I don't miss school. Things will only be worse if I do. 

Grisha made it clear no one is to know, not that they'd believe me anyway. No one believes murderers.

Turning off the taps, I stepped out the shower, my lips are blue in the mirror, it's funny how they match my ribs now. Sliding free the bathroom draw I grab out my secret stash of supplies. Burn cream, nonstick wound pads and tape. It'll be a messy job, but I can't just leave it.

*  
Walking to school was agony. Every step pulled and there'd been blood when I'd changed the dressings this mornings. For a man who wants no one to know, Grisha makes it near impossible. Still all I can do is grit my teeth and keep walking.

If my life was normal I would have been able to enjoy today. Autumn had always been my favourite season. The way the leaves changed colour, there was just something so magical about it all.  
"Eren!"  
Eren jumped and sighed softly before forcing and smile and turning to face his blonde friend  
"Hey Armin!"  
Armin's face fell slightly  
"Eren? You look sick!"  
The small blonde reached out and Eren stepped out his reach  
"I'm alright Armin, just tired... I promise"  
Better to lie to his friend than be hated by him. The rest of the walk was spent in silence.

Armin and Eren separated at the front doors, Armin's first class was English and Eren's was science.

Science was usually Eren's favourite class, usually. But even his crazy teacher Miss Hanji did little to improve his mood. He was in too much pain to concentrate and was running a low grade fever. The second he was free from class he made his way to the bathroom. Dropping his bag on the counter he raised the back of his shirt and hoodie only to see that blood had soaked through the dressings. Fucking Grisha. Lowering his shirt back down he opened his bag and dug out two ibuprofen. He downed them dry, hopefully they'd help with the fever.

If he'd had any illusions that the day might at some point get better, they were long since shattered.

He wasn't the most popular kid in the school but that didn't mean he was the bottom of the rung either. As long as he kept his head down, no one went out their way to mess with him... well all but one. The boys name was Jean and he seemed to have made tormenting me his life goal. Today it had been pushing Eren down the stairs, between classes. Eren hadn't even realised he was falling until the it'd already happened.

Of course with anything like that there's always the people who stand and laugh and that one person who tries to help. Eren had brushed off any help, instead he'd untangled himself and was out the building before anyone could stop him. His heart was pounding.

The person who'd come to his aid was the teen he'd been crushing on for a while now. Levi Ackerman. Levi was everything Eren wasn't. Short with pale skin and silky black hair, he never smiled and yet the girls went crazy for him. He was the star of the track team and Eren was mortified he'd seen the fall. How much more did life want to torture him.

Sliding out his phone he stared down at the screen. It was a little after 1:30 which meant there was a chance Grisha would already be home. So instead of making his way there, he headed to the park near his house.

The park wasn't big or fancy, it had a few pieces of equipment and a tall oak tree. It was actually in a pretty sad state and as far as he knew, he was the only one who ever came to it. Still he sat down under the tree and pulled out his homework. He'd tried hard to pay attention in class, but his mind was foggy from the fever. Still he'd rather be covered in an uncomfortable sweat that explain to Grisha he'd gotten pushed down the stairs at school. Grisha would probably tell him how he deserved it and how it was a character building exercise.

*  
Levi couldn't seem to get the image of Eren out of his head. He couldn't forget the momentary look of panic on the brats face when he'd gone to help him up, or the way he'd slapped his hand away. Even from the distance between them he could tell the kid was in a world of pain and Levi was surprised Eren was able to get up at all. Still he couldn't understand why the image of Eren wouldn't fade.

Kicking a rock Levi walked down the path that would lead him to his house. His eyes seeking out the same rock as he kicked again. If he was honest he didn't want to go home, it'd been a long time since he'd felt as lonely as he did right now. Looking up he looked towards the empty park he sometimes visited, though usually that was at night when he couldn't sleep and needed a cigarette. Even if Kenny was never home, Levi didn't want to risk him finding out. His uncle had been kind enough to take over as his legal guardian after the death of his mother and now that Levi could look after himself, the man was often away. Levi couldn't blame him. He hadn't been the easiest kid to raise, and that had only gotten worse after the deaths of his best friends. 

He hadn't expected to see anyone in the park, let alone Eren. He wondered if he should cross the road and talk to the boy... but what was he supposed to say? It was clear the brat didn't like him and they had nothing in common.

Sighed Levi abandoned the rock he'd been kicking and picked up his pace.

*  
Eren wasn't sure where he was, only that he felt like shit. At some point he'd supposed he'd passed out and now it was late. The sun had long since gone down. Grisha was going to be furious with him. Gathering the book and paper from his lap, he forced them into his bag. His back screaming from the effort.

He whimpered with pain and he pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly from the lightheadedness, his whole body was shaking and he had no idea if he could actually make it home. 

He began to walk, not noticing the teen watching him in the shadows. 

Grisha was furious with him, the second Eren had gotten home he was thrown against the wall. Grishas fist connected with his face and he felt the blood begin to run. All he could was slump forward as he passed out.

When he awoke he had no clue how long he'd been out. He was slumped over the bottom 3 stairs and a needle was hanging from his arm. He frowned at it. Grisha never usually drugged him with needles. The man preferring the neatness and easiness of a pill. Still Eren slid the needle from his elbow and carefully gripped it. His fever had seemed to have lessened and he pushed himself up and through to the kitchen. Grisha wasn't there and Eren dropped the needle into the trash. He needed to eat, he hadn't eaten yesterday and if Grisha had drugged him he'd probably be vomiting from the effects soon. Opening the fridge he took out an apple. He didn't want to touch Grishas food without permission. 

By passing his room he headed for the bathroom, disgustedly he stripped his hoodie and shirt off. His body had new bruises forming, some from the fall but most must have been from Grisha, after he'd passed out.

Turning in the mirror he tried to look at his back. Grisha had cut the skin off his blisters while he'd been unconscious. No wonder he'd drugged him. Probably wanted to leave it as a nice surprise for when he woke up.

Turning the shower on Eren turned it to look warm before stepping under. Even with the drugs in his system the water over his burns reduced him to tears. Angrily he scolded himself, after all he deserved this.

He showered quickly and redressed his wounds before retreating to his room. He needed a few hours sleep if he was expected to attend school tomorrow. But first he pulled out the small box he kept in the top draw. Given that it'd once been his mothers, Eren was sure Grisha wouldn't touch it. 

Opening it his fingers shook. It's been a long time since he'd cut with razor blades, but he had no idea what his father had done with his knife.  
One cut for everything bad he'd thought  
One cut for everything bad he'd said  
One cut for everything bad said to him  
And one cut for every time he'd thought about standing up for himself.  
Grisha may have his rule of "what happens in the house stays in the house", but Eren had his own rules to. Better to hurt himself than someone else.

*  
Eren woke screaming. His back was on fire, he couldn't move his legs at all. There was no way he could go to school. Not like this. He hoped Armin wouldn't come to check on him, he didn't want anything happening to the blonde boy, who was too kind for his own good.

"Get up!"  
He jumped at Grishas voice. Usually the man was gone by now  
"Get the fuck out of bed!"  
Eren could only shake as Grisha crossed the distance and grabbed him by the foot and dragged him onto the floor. Eren couldn't help but scream again as he landed on his hip. He could smell blood and he supposed his back had bled while he slept. All he could do was lay there as Grisha began to boot his stomach. After all he deserved it.  
"I don't know why the fuck you had to live, I don't know why Carla had to die for something as disgusting as you!"  
Eren nodded. Grisha was right.  
"I expect you showered and ready by the time I get home. We're going out later and I expect you to keep your mouth shut"

Eren nodded again and his father walked away. He let his eyes slide closed, he couldn't move if he wanted.

*  
Grisha's idea of going out had apparently meant going to the club owned by his friend Zeke.

On the surface Club 104 was a reputable club, known for always having the best bands and its lack of brawls. However, if you knew where to look you'd find all sorts of deals going down. For example, if you went through the red door marked VIP, next to the bar, you'd find a long hallway, each bedroom coming off of it was used for prostitution. If you ordered gin and lemon, you were asking for ecstasy, gin and cola - ice. It'd been the small things that he allowed Zeke to keep under the radar for so long.

Eren kept close as Grisha cut through the dance floor and over to the bar. He and Zeke greater each other warmly and Eren could only fall in behind them as they walked through the red VIP door.

Zeke picked the first bedroom, the girl who'd been standing in it quickly made herself scarce. Zeke and Grisha took the two available chairs and Eren leant against the wall near them. No way did he want to sit on the bed, he tuned out the two men by looking around the room. Various whips and chains hung almost artistically from the walls, as well as other things Eren wasn't terribly sure he wanted to know about.  
"... Grisha you've fallen behind. I can't give you anymore on credit"  
"I know, that's why he's here"  
Eren jumped as he realised both men were staring at him  
"And what am I going to do with him? He's clearly underage"  
"Yes, but I'm sure you have clientele interested in that... he's only been taken by one man and he knows how to keep his mouth shut..."  
Eren's blood ran cold. Being raped by his father was one thing. It had already broken him inside, but letting himself be had by total strangers. He didn't think he could. He moved towards the door, his breathing becoming laboured.

Grisha grabbed him by the arm and throw him to the floor. He moaned as pain shot to up his spine  
"Well... he does have a nice moan..."  
Zeke seemed to be seriously considering it.  
"Just think of it... and when he's pumped full of drugs he becomes so obedient... why don't you try him out and see for your self"  
Zeke looked at Grisha and Grisha smiled.

Kneeling down in front of Eren, Zeke pulled a small plastic bag of pills out  
"Open your mouth"  
Eren obeyed and Zeke placed the pull on his tongue  
"Swallow"  
Eren swallowed as directed  
"Well he does seem trained... go wait for me at the bar... if he's any good we'll come to an agreement"  
Zekes tone ended any further conversation. Eren heard the door open and close. He felt the drugs begin to kick in and gave into the sensation.

Zeke pulled him to his feet and he giggle, these weren't like the drugs Grisha gave him. These ones were fun.  
"Strip"  
Eren nodded, he took his time while giggling, giving Zeke a show. Finally he stood naked in front of Zeke.  
"Spin"  
Eren spun slowly, he'd just turned his back towards Zeke when he felt fingers brush against it. The touch causing him to whimper and stop  
"Did I tell you to stop?"  
Eren shook his head and turned until he faced Zeke again.  
"Did Grisha do that"  
Eren nodded, he didn't even realise he was smiling  
"Why?"  
Eren shrugged  
"Get on the bed. On your back. I don't want to look at that disgusting mess"

Eren smiled at the world of colours swimming in front of him and he obeyed. He didn't know what this was, only that he wanted more. He laid down against the sheets, wincing slightly at the pain across his hips, but all he could was giggle.  
"Spread your legs"  
Eren felt the bed dip and Zeke moved up towards him, he spread his legs for the man and Zeke was soon between them.

The man didn't take the time to prepare him, but then again he was used to it. But as soon as Zeke had pushed in, Eren's mind had gone off with the fairies, chasing the delicious feeling of the drugs coursing through his system. He lost himself in them, not even realising when Zeke was done. He didn't realise that the man had left him at all. 

*  
Crossing to the bar, Zeke slipped the bag of pills from earlier into Grishas pocket  
"I told you he was worth it"  
"I'll take him for two nights. And after that your debt is paid"  
Grisha nodded and moved towards the door, he didn't look back.

*  
Eren felt like he was floating, voice after voice was interrupt his high, but he could never focus on them for long. 

Zeke watched on, the camera in the room recording every minute. The teen was beautiful if you ignored the scars and burns. But then again, what did that matter? People still wanted to pay for him and that was what it came down too.

Every time it seemed Eren was coming down, Zeke would dose him again. The teen didn't even realise he was drenched in sweat and semen, naturally he could charge twice as much for barebacking.

Zeke kept him for the two nights before sending him home. The teen didn't seem to know what had happened, but Zeke didn't care. He'd made nearly 20 grand from perverts wanting the young teen. Grisha's debt, paid twice over.

*  
Eren woke in a haze of fog, his hips were beyond tender and his back had bled enough to cause the wound to stick to the sheets. He'd nearly passed out pulling himself off them.

He staggered to the bathroom and stared in the mirror. His neck bruised with strangulation marks that he couldn't even remember. All he could remember clearly was Zeke giving him something, and then the face of the occasional man. He whimpered as he got into the shower. His father had actually finally crossed the line and sold him for drugs. 

Turning the water as hot as he could he scrubbed his skin raw. He could feel the ghost of fingertips touching him everywhere and began to sob. It'd finally happened. There was no going back from this. He truly would never see his kind father again.

He stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. Everything hurt so fucking badly. He'd stuck around in the chance he'd see the man his mother loved so much resurface. But now there was no point. 

His fingers didn't even shake as he broke the plastic razor apart for the blade. He felt nothing as he he turned his wrist into a bloodied grid. His hopes had been to do too much damage to repair.

*  
He realised he'd failed the second his eyes had opened. He was in the bathroom, on the floor and laying in his own blood. He couldn't even kill himself properly. All it seemed he could was cry.

Grisha was going to be so mad when he saw this mess. Eren wondered if the man would finally kill him for it. He wondered if he'd finally be with his mother again, but then again she'd probably seen everything. She probably hated him, after all she'd died because of him.

He forced himself from the floor and back into the shower, pulling down the cord, he aimed the head out the door and turned it on, the blood soon swirled with the water and the mess began to disappear down the drain. He'd need to bleach the floor later... that's if they had bleach. The times Grisha hadn't poured the kettle over his back, he'd used bleach. Now every time Eren as near it, his nose would bleed. But it was better to have a bloodied nose than a dirty house.

He rinsed himself down. The cuts in his arm had been much shallower than he'd thought. Of course. He had no right to die. He deserved all the pain he got.

He wrapped his arm and part of his hand, he'd say he sprained it if Armin asked. It was better than the truth. Armin was hardly as blind as he let everyone believe. He dragged himself back to his room and collapsed on his bed. Someone had placed his phone in charge. Probably Grisha. He vaguely remembered something about a tracking app on his phone. The man probably didn't want him wandering far... just in case he needed more drugs and had no money.

*  
11:58pm. In two more minutes it'd be Monday. He had school today. He must have been out of it pretty badly to sleep that long. Pulling his clothes on he slipped from the house. He needed fresh air and walked to the park.

He could see a small red dot as he moved closer, someone was sitting on the swings and he scrunched his nose up at the smell of cigarette smoke. It was to late to bail out by the time he realised the one smoke was Levi. The teen had already raised his hand in greeting and Eren was too exhausted to run. He crossed the distance and sat down next to his crush. The swing creaking lightly under his weight.  
"Where have you been... I haven't seen you round school..."  
Eren blinked in surprise, Levi was actually going to talk to him...  
"Tch! Fine then brat"  
Eren frowned... had he really taken that long to answer?  
"I... uh... I was busy..."  
Levi looked at him like he was an idiot. This was a bad idea. He pushed himself off the swing, not realising he bandage on how wrist hadn't gone unnoticed.  
"What happened...?"  
Eren jumped back defensively  
"Did you try to kill yourself? Is that it? Is that why you weren't at school"  
Eren didn't even realise he'd let out a laugh  
"If it was just school it'd be fine..."  
He turned to leave but Levi grabbed him by the arm  
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? Are you saying you're ok with being pushed down the stairs?"  
Eren stared down at Levi.  
"It's fine... I'll be at school tomorrow"

Eren walked away from Levi before the other teen could start questioning him again. With every step his panic grew. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut? 

Sneaking back inside the house Eren slipped back into his room. Sleep didn't come that night, but he didn't care. He sat there for hours with tears streaming down his face. He deserved it after all.

*  
Levi could tell there was something wrong the moment he'd laid eyes on Eren. He hadn't expected his night to be interrupted by the brat that hadn't left his mind in days. Even in the dim light, Levi could see the other teen had lost weight, his normally sparkling eyes looked empty and he didn't understand why that was so very un-ok with him.

He couldn't stop his mouth. He hadn't meant to scare Eren, but he was slightly mad the boy had hurt himself, madder still that he seemed to be ok with it and what happened at school. Didn't this brat understand how precious life actually was.

As Eren scampered away, Levi decided he was going to make it his mission. He wanted to know about the curious enigma that was Eren Yeager.

*  
That morning Grisha was gone so Eren helped himself to some food. He couldn't go collapsing at school. That'd just lead to awkward questions like the ones from Levi last night. 

He could only manage a few spoonfuls of cereal before it threatened to come back up. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a real meal. It'd been a couple of years at least. Grisha had made it clear that the food in the house was his, his chest still bore the word thief, carved into it when he'd made a sandwich without permission. He supposed it kind of went with the word he'd carved into his own leg. He couldn't even remember doing it, and yet "whore" was there at the top of his right thigh.

Dressing carefully Eren redressed his back. He was sure infection was setting in. Bits of green and yellow had been on the dressing he'd removed. He'd have to steal something for it from the school infirmary, after all, that's where most of his now depleted supplies came from.

Armin greeted him brightly, his eyes immediately falling in Eren's bandaged arm. Eren laughed it off as a sprain, explaining he'd slid on the wet bathroom floor and landed wrong, but nothing was broken. Armin nodded and began to tell him about his weekend. It seemed he'd caught up with Mikasa. If Eren was honest he missed her, but also if he was honest, he was glad she was now in boarding school. She was safe from Grisha there.

As Armin left for English and Eren headed towards science, he felt dread with every step. He'd have to ask Hanji for the work he'd missed and she was as nosy as she was eccentric.

She damn near talked through the whole morning break before finally giving Eren his missed work, but if anyone asked him, Eren couldn't remember a single word said.

He didn't even make it to his next class before Jean was tormenting him. This time accompanied by two seniors. Reiner and Bertholt. The two held him down while Jean took pleasure in booting into his stomach. He was sure they'd damaged his ribs, given how hard it was to breath.  
"Oi! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"  
Eren flinched away from the voice. He silently begged Levi to turn around and leave. To pretend he didn't see anything.  
"Let him the fuck go"

Eren could only curl into himself as Reiner and Bertholt complied, Jean clearly wasn't amused by the interruption and booted his lower back hard. Eren bit threw his lip without even realising. Everything hurt too badly.  
"Oi! Brat! Don't go passing out now..."  
Eren felt a hand on his shoulder and whimpered. Whoever was touching him was going to get dirty. He was dirty. Contaminated. What else could he be?  
"Oi! Come on, get up! Erwin!  
Come help me here"

Eren felt himself being pulled up, he whimpered as they looped his arms over their shoulders and didn't understand why the older teens were helping him. Why couldn't they just leave him there? Why did they have to interfere.  
"Levi this is pretty bad... what happened?"  
"That shitty horse face Jean... it's not the first time either..."  
"We should take him to hospital... his lip won't stop bleeding..."  
"That was the plan, eyebrows"  
"No... no... hospital... just to infirmary..."  
Eren surprised himself, as his words hit his ears.  
"I don't think..."  
"It's fine... this is nothing... just help me there please..."

Eren couldn't see the looks passing between Erwin and Levi. The boy needed a doctor, not a half trained nurse.

Eren tried to pull away from the two teens supporting him. He absolutely couldn't go to hospital. They'd call Grisha, they'd want to check him and they'd see everything. He wouldn't be able to hide it. Tears formed and began to drip.  
"Oi brat! Quit moving around! We're nearly there..."  
Erwin slipped out from Eren's arm to open the door, the room was empty and the two teens looked around, they had no idea how they were supposed to help Eren.  
"Uh, Eren. Wait here I'll call an ambulance..."  
"No! No it's alright... I can take it from here... please just go back to class and pretend this never happened..."  
Levi was about to object but Erwin placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the door, Eren was already beginning to rifle threw things.

*  
"Erwin, what the fuck was that! Why did you drag me away? He couldn't even fucking stand!"  
"Levi you didn't notice did you. He didn't even hesitate before opening the cupboard draws... draws that need a key..."  
Levi stopped as Erwin's words sank in. What was Eren doing with a key?  
"Erwin..."  
"Levi think about it... he knew exactly where everything was, I get the feeling he's been there quiet a bit and I get the feeling it's best if you don't get involved"  
Levi stared at his friend in confusion. He really didn't get what Erwin was trying to tell him  
"Spit it out, shitty eyebrows"  
"Look there's a rumour going on that he was out clubbing at 104 last week and did you notice his arm? It was bleeding... I'm just saying that getting involved with him might not be the best idea"  
Levi narrowed his eyes. He knew 104 from reputation. The club with the best music, best booze and best drugs.  
"Eren hardly strikes me as a user..."  
"Then he could be a dealer or a go between. Look at your friend I'm telling you to just be careful, people have already seen you with him and I'm sure Jean will be bitching that you stopped him"  
Levi nodded  
"I still don't feel right about walking away..."  
"Come on, we're late for class..."  
Levi glanced back towards the infirmary, but let Erwin lead him away.

*  
Eren knew all the secret hiding spots in the infirmary, including the key the nurse kept taped the cupboard he needed. Of course it was normally hidden by a book against it, Eren had only found it by accident.

Pulling out everything he needed, he worked on cleaning his face up.  
His lip was swollen and blood kept dribbling from it. Still he did the best he could to tape gauze over it. Raising his shirt he could see deep bruises developing across his abdomen, but his back was worse. Jean had split the healing skin open. The whole area was red and angry. It'd brought him to tears as he applied cream to the area and a fresh wound pad. Thanks to the pain in his stomach he couldn't move the way he wanted to properly tape it and wound up with tape on the wound itself. He'd whimpered as he pulled it free. He couldn't really do anything for the bruising. It wasn't like he could wrap himself in a blanket of ice packs and hope the swelling stayed minimal.  
Instead he rifled through the medicine cabinet until he found extra strength panadol. He downed 4 without caring. He needed to get through the day, Jean wasn't going to stop him.

Taking the foil tray of pills, he also took some extra things so he could redress his back later. These he hid in his hoodie pocket. He had no idea where his bag had gotten too.

*  
Erwin and Levi were walking back past the site where Jean had been laying into Eren. The teens bag sat neglected against the wall and a small pool of blood sat nearly dry by it. Erwin looked at Levi, knowing what he was about it to say  
"Go on and take it to him, it's better than leaving it here for anyone else to take. I'll tell Pixis where you are..."  
Levi smiled and nodded. He didn't feel so guilty, now that he was going back to check on Eren.

He pushed open the door and found Eren rifling through things. The boy jumped, guilt etched on his face  
"Don't worry. I won't judge. I just wanted to return this..."  
Levi slowly moved and placed Eren's bag on the bed. Eren's eyes following him the whole time.  
"Are you sure you'll be alright... I can take you to the hospital if you need..."  
Eren shook his head and Levi looked around the room. He'd never actually needed to come here before today. His eyes fell on the pile of bloodied bandaging in the bin.  
"Eren... did you do that?"  
His hand shook as he pointed to the mess and Eren flinched.  
"It's alright... I'm not mad at you... but if you're being hurt you need to tell someone... if not me, at least your parents..."  
The look Eren gave Levi was something Levi had never seen. Pure fear. Complete and total panic. And grief. All mixed into one.  
"I'm fine. Thanks for returning my bag"  
Eren grabbed it off the bed and went to step past Levi, the teen unthinkingly grabbed his arm. Eren yelped and Levi realised his mistake  
"Shit! I'm sorry!"  
Eren said nothing as he jerked away. He wanted nothing more than to run. But he had nowhere to go, even if he did, so instead he headed back to class.

*  
All eyes were on him as he slipped into English. Whispers erupted but Eren still moved across the room and took his seat. He was only there for maybe half an hour before the bell rang and class was dismissed.

He waited for the other students to file out before approaching his teacher. He held up his hand before Eren could even speak and thrust work into his hands. Eren nodded gratefully before slowly leaving the room. His head was beginning to swim and he supposed that was what happened when you took that much panadol on a near empty stomach. 

He'd barely exited the room before Jean was at it again. Eren would never understand him. He felt teen grab him and he was slammed against the wall  
"What the fuck did you tell Ackerman! Since when have you been ratting us out to him"  
"I told him nothing!"  
"Oh yeah, because someone as popular as him has time to waste on the likes of you..."  
The door to the English room opened and Jean released Eren. Eren took this opportunity to put as much distance between the two of them as possible.

He wasn't completely sure where he was going and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. His vision was beginning to swim and he was forced to sink down against the nearest wall  
"Eren? Oi! You alright brat?"  
Eren tried to nod, but his chest was getting tighter.  
"Eren you need to breathe. You're having a panic attack..."  
Eren wanted to tell Levi he was already trying to breathe, instead he passed out.

*  
The ceiling above him wasn't familiar, the mechanical beeping in his ears told him he'd fucked up and the nauseating smell of sterility told him he was in hospital. 

Fuck.

They would have seen the bruises, they would have seen the burns, they would have seen the cuts... what was he supposed to do now.

"Mr Yeager? Are you with us?"  
Eren forced his gaze towards the voice, a middle aged nurse peered over at him, like he was some kind of oddity. Eren nodded slightly.  
"You're alright Eren, you friends brought you in after you collapsed at school. You were running a high fever, the burns on your back infected... did you want to talk about what happened..."  
Eren panicked. He couldn't say it was Grisha...  
"Kids at school..."  
The nurse frowned, clearly not believing him.  
"Are you saying, kids at school did this to you?"  
Eren shifted slightly, wincing at the feeling of skin pulling on his back  
"Not the marks on my thighs..."  
The nurse nodded and made a note of it on the clipboard in her hands.  
"Have you told anyone about this? Maybe Grisha?"  
Eren's head shot back up and stared at the woman  
"You know my father?"  
Normally he would have called Girsha by his name, but right now he had to play the part of the curious son  
"He used to work here years ago, I'm not surprised you don't remember... that was before Carla died after all... such a terrible accident"  
Eren nodded. He remembered vaguely something about his father being a doctor, but that had been so very long ago.  
"Grisha will be here soon, and we'll go from there..."  
"Dad!"  
Eren cut her short, Grisha was behind her and he needed this performance to go perfectly.  
"Eren, my god what happened to you..."  
"Apparently he's being bullied at school. They really did a number on him"  
Grisha crossed the room and took Eren's hand, the man was playing his part perfectly  
"Oh Eren, why didn't you tell me?"  
Damn, he nearly sounded genuinely saddened.  
"I know you're busy and I didn't want you to worry..."  
Grisha nodded and turned back to the nurse  
"Susanne, how long will he have to stay here?"  
"Overnight at least, we're still waiting on his blood test results and he's underweight. Also he's running a low grade fever caused by the burn on his back"  
"Burns, what burns?"  
Grisha spun back to Eren  
"They uh, messed by back up and poured boiling hot water over it"  
Grisha moved forward so it appeared he was hugging Eren, whispering in his ear  
"Keep this up, at least until we get home. After that you're mine..."  
Eren shivered, he knew exactly what his father meant.  
"Given the level of violence in the attack, the police and school have been contacted..."  
"Thank you Susanne, can I have some time with Eren please..."  
"Sure Grisha, you should come round more often, I'd love to catch up with you..."  
Susanne left and Grisha's facade fell.  
"One word about what's happened and they'll never find your body..."  
Yep no mistaking that one  
"It's not like I ended up here intentionally, I told them not to bring me here"  
"Don't fucking talk back to me. You should have been fucking stronger, now look what you've done"  
"Look, you only have to stay until the police come and take a statement, after that you can do whatever you want"  
Eren sighed. Why couldn't they have just left him alone?

*  
Erwin wouldn't let Levi just take Eren home. Especially after Eren's shirt had ridden up and given the both of them a good view of the bruises covering his stomach. After that the two of them had called an ambulance and Levi had traveled with Eren with the hospital.

That was three days ago and Eren still hadn't returned to school. Levi had wanted to track down Eren's friend, but he'd never talked to the blonde boy and didn't want to cause more troubles for Eren. Clearly something serious was going on with the brat and not just usual school bullying.

Levi didn't understand how the brat had managed to get under his skin so deeply, Erwin had taken every chance to tease him over it and Levi hadn't talked to his friend all day. 

He watched out the window instead, a cop car pulling up out the front and he immediately straightened up.  
By the end of the day, the whole school was buzzing over the fact that Jean had been taken into custody.

*  
Grisha couldn't beat Eren, but that didn't mean he couldn't punish the kid, after all there were ways to hurt someone that wasn't physical. Eren had blamed the bruising on Jean and he knew the boy had been taken into custody. Grisha had skipped town after that, he said he'd be back once the heat had died down.

2 weeks later and Eren was finding it hard. He had no money for food and it wasn't like Grisha had left any.

It wasn't until Zeke showed up one night to collect on Grishas debt that Eren was presented with an opportunity.  
As Eren explained how Grisha had baled, Zeke had been less than impressed, apparently the man owed him more than a small sum.  
It was Eren himself who said he'd take on work for Zeke. The teen would sell himself, Zeke would organise the customers and Eren would be taking 15%, 10% for himself and 5% on Grishas debt. Zeke wanted him working every night and Eren was in no position to disagree. If he was lucky he'd be able to save enough to get his own place, although he was sure Grisha wouldn't let him go that easily.

*  
It wasn't as painful as he expected, but that was because Zeke gave him party favours every night before he brought in the John. Every night he told himself the same thing, soon it'd be over and he'd be free from Grisha. 

Naturally working late hours his school grades had taken a hit, but Eren couldn't find the will to care. Since Jeans arrest other had begun bullying him, after all, he was the kid who told. Levi had made the effort to talk to him, but Eren was still furious, at least with Grisha around he knew what was coming for the most part, his customers did whatever they wanted to him, whips, chains, drugs, drinks. Some like to choke him and some liked to cut him. Be he didn't care, he deserved it all.

He'd been working for Zeke for a few months and Grisha hadn't returned, Eren wasn't delusional enough to believe the man was dead in a gutter. Pushing through the club door, he knew something was wrong. The place had been trashed and Zeke wasn't there. Slipping through the VIP doors he found the girls gone. He did the only think he could do, he left.

He heard at school the next day that Zeke had been done for distribution and once again Eren felt helpless. He was hopelessly addicted to the high Zeke dealt and now he was without an income. He wished he'd had his client list, but unfortunately that was with Zeke.

He'd have to live without for a little while, not that he'd exactly blown his pay. He'd been careful to buy only the things he needed, or the things he thought his customers would enjoy, after all a happy customer always paid more.

He stopped in his way home, the seedy bottle shop near his served him without care, smokes and rum did little to take away his craving for drugs. His body may have healed but inside he was even more broken than before.  
"Oi! Oi, you fucking faggot, I'm fucking talking to you"  
Eren flinched, he'd avoided Jean for months now. Why today of all days. He didn't even get to turn around before he was king hit from behind. He dropped like a sack of potatoes and Jean started on him, clearly eager to make up for lost time.

The bottle of rum he'd brought lay smashed behind him, though his smokes were in his pocket, he was sure they'd be crushed. Fucking Jean, couldn't he just fuck off.  
"Pinning fucking shit on me. Shit I didn't even do! What the fuck is your damage!?"  
Eren supposed that was a fair point, but it wasn't like he could admit to what Grisha did.

Jean pulled away and Eren made his move, he grabbed Jeans leg and used the teens momentum to send him sprawling. He copied Jeans actions and began booting the boy. He was so beyond angry. He only stopped when he was pulled away. Jean was a total mess and Eren didn't bother looking at who was pulling him along. It didn't really matter. As soon as they rounded the corner, Eren dropped to his knees, his fingers went straight to undoing the mans belt, they all wanted the same didn't they?  
"What the fuck are you doing!"  
Panic gripped Eren's heart. He'd fucked up. That was Levi's voice. 

Eren stumbled to his feet. Even if he hadn't talked to Levi, even if he was mad at him, Eren still really liked him.

He didn't stop running until he was safely home. The door slammed on reality. He sank to the floor against it. He knew alcohol was doing jack-sit to help with his drug withdrawal.  
Heading to the bathroom he ran the shower on hot. He didn't bother looking in the mirror, he knew he'd see an underweight brat littered with healing bruises and small cut marks.

He really didn't want to resort to it, but he let himself into Grishas room and began going through everything. He desperately needed that high. He didn't want to feel so hollow. 

He found what he seeker behind Grishas bed, it'd slipped down behind the ensemble base. 4 pills. He didn't care what they were. He downed them dry.

*  
Leaving watched as Eren ran. He had never imagined in a million years the teen would do something like that, hell it'd been a shock to see him laying into Jean, although the other teen deserved it. 

Something was definitely going on with the teen. Levi pushed himself away from the wall. He felt disgusting, his skin crawling at the thought of the germs now on his skin. Still he headed the at Eren had gone, he'd lost sight of him, but rounding a corner near the park, he saw the boy heading into what seemed to be a nice house.

Levi couldn't help but be annoyed. The brat seemed to come from money, why couldn't he hell was he so depressed and angry.  
Levi shook his head and turned, heading back to his own home.

*  
The colours were beautiful as they danced before Eren's eyes, he'd never seen anything so beautiful or vibrant. He didn't even realise when he staggered from his home, all he was wearing was a pair of skinny legs jeans. His goal was nowhere in particular. 

He didn't even realise he was at the park or on the swings, everything felt incredible, he'd missed this feeling so badly.

He didn't hear Levi yelling out to him. He didn't even realise the teen hand stopped his swing or that he'd fallen from it. It was all just too funny.

He laughed and teased the body that was touching his. They wanted to fuck him right? They could do what they wanted, as long as this feeling would never end.

*  
Levi didn't know what to make of an obviously high Eren, he had no idea what to do and the brat was making it hard for him to keep his head. Eren seemed like he couldn't get enough of him, his touches clearly greedy and he was rubbing up to Levi as much as he humanly could. Where the fuck was the kids parents?

Levi pulled Eren up closer, ignoring the kisses Eren seemed to think he needed pressed to his face. Eren only got more handsy as Levi took him home. 

Inside was nothing like Levi'd expected. He yelled hello and got no reply. Where they out? Eren giggled loudly at him and Levi rolled his eyes. What'd he ever do to deserve his.

He dragged Eren up the stairs, the first door to the right seemed to be his room and Levi dropped him down on the bed. Immediately the teen grabbed him and pulled him down, his hands going straight to Levi's crutch and he began massaging. Yep no mistake there.

Levi pushed him off in disgust, wincing as Eren landed face first against the bed, Levi felt bad for him, he'd seen how hard Eren was.  
"Eren...? Eren do you know what your took?"  
Eren giggled  
"Eren? Where are your parents?"  
"Gooooone..."  
"No shit... where abouts?"  
"I killed my mum so she's in the ground and Grisha took off..."  
Levi felt disgust as Eren dissolved into a fit of giggles.  
"Eren, who's Grisha?"  
"My father. If he was here he'd punish me. I don't like it when he punishes me"  
"What does he do Eren?"  
Eren waved a hand loosely indicating himself and Levi felt sick  
"Does he hurt you!"  
"Yeah... but it's alright. I deserve it..."

Levi's eyes narrowed dangerously. Eren's own father had done this to him? How fucked up do you need to be?!  
"Eren, do you want to stay here or do you want to come with me?"  
"Are we going to 104! Please can we go to 140! Zeke will give me the good stuff if we dooo, and the girls will love you..."  
Levi raised and eyebrow, everyone at school knew that 104 had been shut down after Zeke was sent to jail.  
"Eren... they closed down 104..."  
Eren pushed off the bed, Levi had to bite his lip, the pout on Eren's face was too funny.

Next thing Levi knew, Eren was bawling his eyes out. It'd barely been a second  
"Leviiii... wanna know a secret?"  
"Not really... gets shirt on so we can leave"  
Eren shook his head, he over and pulled his desk draw out, not caring at the draw fell to ground and a corner broke  
"Tch! Be careful!"  
Eren stuck his hand into the desk before pulling out the biggest wad of cash Levi had ever seen  
"Levi... lets go have some funnnnn..."  
"Eren... you're getting dressed fist..."  
"And then we can have some fun?"  
"Yes, we can have some fun. Put your clothes on so we can go. I'll pack your bag too..."  
Eren nodded and started pulling clothes out his wardrobe, he'd splurged a little on his wardrobe and Zeke had dressed him whenever they had to out to meet a client. Levi grumbled as Eren's clothes landed on him. Why was even here again?  
He shoved the cash in the bottom of Eren's bag and then as many of the clothes he could fit. He didn't know if Eren would even stay put once he came down.

It was the early hours of the morning before he finally got Eren from the house. The teen kept alternating between crying and giggling. There was no in between.

*  
Eren woke with a splitting headache, he was in a strange bed and had no idea how he got their.  
"Look who's awake!"  
Eren went move away from the voice, his head was throbbing so severely he just wanted to crawl into a ball and die.  
"Nope, you can't sleep. We have school today..."  
A hand jerked back the blankets and Eren gasped from the cold. His body breaking into goosebumps  
"You fuck!"  
"Yes, yes I do. Now, go take a shower and don't you dare get my bathroom messy"  
Eren felt a hand on his arm and the he was dragged out of bed, and shoved through a door.

He mumbled crankily as he stripped, leaving the clothes in a pile on the floor. He allowed himself to moan under the water pressure, it was so much better than the pressure at home.  
He stayed under the water until he finally felt awake. Realising he had no towel he opened ed the bathroom door, enough people had seen his body that he didn't feel ashamed about it anymore  
"Eren! What the fuck! It's too early for this!"  
"There was no towel"  
Oh right, he might need one of those. Levi walked over and pushed past Eren, before grabbing a towel from under the sink.  
"Here! Dry yourself off and then get dressed, you have clothes in your bag"

*  
Levi watched as Eren blinked at him confused, the boys face seemed to be growing redder  
"Tch! Come on, we aren't doing this today! Put your clothes on already"  
Still, Eren stood not moving.

Levi frowned and raised his palm to Eren's forehead. The boy had a fever. Of course he did. First Levi had to drag him home, then Eren started crying so Levi had to sleep next to him, then Eren had woken him earlier by screaming, and now he was sick.  
What the fuck life?  
"Eren you're burning up, go back to bed, there's no way you can go to school today..."  
Eren began to laugh, I can't say it sounded particularly nice.  
"I don't get you at all. You stuck your nose and fuck up my life and then you drag me back to your house. You're seriously weird"  
Levi sighed.  
"And you're fucking deaf, now go back to sleep before you make yourself worse"  
"Noooo... that's boring, let's have some fun. What do you say... I know you want me, they all do. They never cared what I wanted, but if you pay me I'll be a good boy and make you feel really good..."

Levi could only stare at the teen in disgust. There was something seriously wrong in his head, normal people don't go dropping sentences like that.  
"Eren. I have no money and I don't want your body, all I want is for you to get some sleep..."  
"Fuck you, what are you, my mother?"  
Eren's eyes filled with grief and Levi's mind went back to the night before. Didn't Eren say he killed his mother?  
"No I'm not. I'm just someone who's been as depressed as you are and I'm trying to help"  
"Oh, so you think we're alike do you? Don't make me fucking laugh"  
"Look Eren, I know what it's like to lose people you love and I know what it's like to lose yourself in the pain. That's why you were off your head last night, wasn't it?"  
"Levi, you don't know jack shit"

Eren spun around and retreated back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Levi waited, not moving. He knew all to well what came next. Soon he could hear the sobs of the other teen, gently he knocked on the door  
"Tch! Brat, it's alright, come out here and we'll talk... you said I fucked your life up so you at least owe me an apology"  
The sobs stopped and the door opened slightly. Levi nudged it open.

Eren was sitting on the side of the bathtub. Red lines were forming on his wrists.  
"Why the fuck are you cutting yourself in my bathroom? What do you want to do? Do you want to kill yourself? Is that it!"  
Levi hadn't meant to get so angry, but it was frustrating as he knew he used to be the same. Walking past Eren he pulled out the first aid kit.  
"Where'd you get the blade?"  
Levi indicated to the cheap razor blade that sat next to Eren  
"I keep them in my wallet"  
At least Eren was talking to him, that was something right?

Levi wiped the cuts clean with an alcohol wipe, Eren didn't even flinch and allowed him to bandage his arms without speaking. Seeing the teen hadn't made the effort, he abandoned the first aid kit and fetched a pair of Eren's boxers for him. It was too creepy having Eren sit there and not caring he was naked.

He slipped the boxers up to Eren's thighs and then pulled him up, so he could pull them all the way up, taking Eren's hand, Levi lead him back to the bed.

Levi crawled across the covers and Eren followed him, both teens sitting with their backs to the wall  
"Alright. Spit it out. What's got you so messed up your doing drugs and cutting..."  
Eren looked at Levi like he was stupid for not knowing  
"I can't help you if you don't tell me..."  
"Pffft you wouldn't even care anyway. Thanks to you my piece of shit fathers gone"  
Levi looked up at Eren's face, the teen was completely blank, almost like he had no feelings at all  
"And what did I do?"  
"You knew I didn't want to go to hospital, things may have been shitty at home, but at least he was there..."  
"Eren, you're not making sense... does this all have something to do with you beating on Jean?"  
"He fucking deserved it"  
"And he hit me from behind"  
Levi didn't know what to say. It seemed dealing with Eren was like walking through a mine field. One moment you think your safe, than boom!

"Alright, tell me about your father than, I'm sure he wouldn't want you hurting yourself"  
Eren glared  
"Who the fuck do you think did all this. You think I got up one morning and decided to carve thief into my own chest, for taking a fucking Apple..."  
Levi was taken back. Eren had said something about his father hurting him when he was off his head, apparently that was still the case, when he was sober.  
"So your dad did that... and did he do your back too?"  
"Yeah? Isn't it sexy? All the men love it, they love adding their own marks to it too..."  
"Eren..."  
"No fuck you Levi. I need some fucking sleep, my heads pounding and your voice isn't helping. Now fuck off"

Levi almost snorted at that, he'd told Eren to sleep and now the teen was kicking him out of his own room? Eren was certainly different, that was to sure.

Eren made a big scene out of curling up under the covers and Levi could see how badly he was shaking. He reasoned that Eren was still coming down and decided to text to Erwin to let him know he wouldn't be at school.

Slipping from the bed, Levi began to clean the bathroom. The first thing he did was throw about the rusting blade Eren had used, before hunting down Eren's wallet and binning the other 3 from it. 

Erwin wasn't impressed at all that Levi wasn't attending, calling bullshit on him being sick. Levi didn't bother replying. Instead he resumed cleaning and out Eren's clothes throw the wash.

By lunchtime Eren was burning with fever and vomiting. Vomit had never bothered Levi, not the way it bothered most. He watched as Eren twitched and moaned in pain. He had zero envy.

After school Erwin came around and Levi sighed. This day was shit and he wanted a total do over. Erwin didn't help, his friend exploding once informed that Eren was there.  
"Levi, I thought I told you to stay clear of him! He put Jean in hospital yesterday!"  
Levi arched an eyebrow  
"And how do you know that"  
"He was telling everyone at school today, everyone thinks Eren's a fucking psycho!"  
"Erwin, Jean attacked Eren first. I was the one who dragged him away from Jean"  
"It doesn't matter, think about what it'll do to your reputation. And you do know he's a prostitute too right? Jean was running his mouth about that! You can't help him, he needs to go home!"  
Erwin was panting hard by the time he finished and Levi just stared at him  
"Look, the kids got issues, I don't want you falling back into your old bad habits"  
"Firstly, when did Jean become an Eren expert?  
Secondly, neither of us know the story, all we know is that he's being bashed at school.  
Thirdly, I'm going to help him"  
Erwin shook his head  
"He can't stay here Levi."  
"That's where your wrong Erwin, now please leave"  
Erwin stood his ground until Levi's glared finally forced him to move. For a short guy, Levi could be pretty scary.

The next week was spent in an exhausted haze. Eren's moods fluctuating between extreme anger it bursting into tears and he refused to talk to Levi at all. Even when Eren finally passed out, he'd wake up screaming in his sleep. When this happened they wouldn't talk, eventually Eren would calm enough and fall back to sleep.

Levi found himself caring more and more about the teen. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed Eren before that day on the stairwell. With his tanned skin and green eyes, the boy was exactly his type. But the two of them had nothing in common, so Levi had let himself be surrounded by annoying girls. 

*  
Eren looked down at the teen next to him, Levi was asleep and Eren felt guilty for how bad a shape he was in. Levi's already pale skin was near on see through and black bags hung under his eyes. Quietly Eren slipped from the bed. He needed to get back home. Grisha might be back and waiting.

He didn't bother leaving a note. Levi probably wouldn't care anyway. Instead he slipped out until the morning air and made his way back home.

Opening the front door, he was greeted by silence. He checked every room, but they were all empty. A thought gripped his heart, Grisha wasn't coming back for him. He knew he should be happy, be relieved, but what the hell was he supposed to do now. Sinking down on the couch he pulled his knees to his chest and began to sob.

*  
Levi woke in panic, Eren was gone and so were his things. He hadn't meant to fall asleep and had no idea how long it'd been since Eren left. Pulling out his phone he looked at the time 1:34pm. Shit. He dressed in a hurry and ran out the door.

Levi didn't know where he was going, he checked the park first, but Eren wasn't there, so he moved onto the teens house.  
He stared at the open front door and began walking towards it, he didn't even think to be afraid. He just wanted to check on Eren.

He found the teen sitting on the ratty excuse for a couch and sat down next to him, pulling him over so he could hold him against his chest. Eren's tears kept flowing, completely silently.  
"Levi... what am I supposed to do... he's gone... I wanted him gone for so long... but now I don't know what to do"  
Levi rubbed Eren's back in slow wide circles.  
"Well you can come stay with me, my uncle is never home..."  
"But you don't even know the things I've done. I used to have the biggest crush on you and now you're probably disgusted by something like me..."  
Eren tried to pull away but Levi held him still  
"I'm not disgusted Eren... but that doesn't mean I want to date you either..."  
Eren sobbed harder and actual sound managed to be produced.  
"Look, I'm not saying it to be mean, but it's not like I know you, yes I let you crash at mine this last week, but you barely said anything..."  
Eren shoved away from Levi and fell off the chair. Levi would have laughed if Eren didn't look so distraught  
"I can't... I can't tell you... he'll kill you if you find out... he'll kill me... but that's alright... I deserve it... you don't... not you..."  
Levi stared up the now pacing teen  
"You mean your father don't you...?"  
Eren nodded  
"Eren he's been gone for months now..."  
"I know! And Zekes gone too! What am I supposed to do! How am I supposed to live?"  
"Come with me and we'll figure it out together"  
"There you go! There you go just offering like it's nothing! You don't know me! I killed my own mother, I let my father rape and beat me and sell me to clear his fucking drug debts and then... when he fucked off, I had to sell myself and you know what I fucking liked it! I didn't care what they did, as long as Zeke would give me fucking drugs!"  
Levi stared at Eren, he had no idea what he was supposed to say. The brat clearly needed help and someone to talk to.  
"Why..."  
"Why what Levi? Why didn't I run away? Tried that, he snapped my arm. Why didn't I tell anyone? He killed by friends parents. Why didn't I tell the police? He was going to kill me! I fucking deserved it! I deserve all of it. I ruined his life and he's my father I have to do what he wants!"  
Levi sprung from the couch and slapped Eren hard across the face. 

The teen had been near on having a panic attack.

"Eren, calm down. The things that happened to you are shit. Absolutely fucking shit. But if you let me I can help. I used to cut, and fight and drink, but it never took the pain away. My two best friends died and I felt responsible for it for a very long time. They were coming to see me..."  
Eren stared at Levi  
"Life can be shitty, so just shut up and let me help you!"  
Eren shook his head  
"No... you should go. I'll be alright now..."  
Levi grabbed him by the collar of his shirt  
"Look here, you can be as stubborn as you want, but you have friends who actually give a fuck about you. What about that blonde kid you're always with? What would he do if you weren't here?"  
Eren's bottom lip began to quiver  
"I know you've been hurt over and over.  
"I'm just so tired. And so scared. He'd everywhere Levi. I can feel him on me all the time. I hear his voice and see him from the corner of my eyes"  
Levi nodded  
"When my mother died, I'd see her all the time. She died when I was a kid, so my uncle took me in. Now I'm older, he's always off doing things and I never know when he'd just going to appear home. I want to help you, let me help you?"  
Eren slowly nodded, not completely sure why. Maybe because he just wanted Levi to stop looking so sad.  
"Now is there anything you need from here? Have you got all your ID, because once we leave, I'm not letting you back..."  
Eren shook his head  
"Grisha keeps all that in his room..."  
"Alright, I'll go look, while you sort what we need to take. Alright?"  
Eren nodded and tried to pull himself together.

*  
Levi was revolted by Grishas room, the whole of it trashed. Needles and bottles strewn across the floor. He made his way carefully over to the large wooden desk and began rifling through the draws. There was so much shit that in the end he wound up grabbing it all. He didn't want to stay in the room any longer than he had to. He made his way downstairs and found a bag to stuff it all into. And then went to hunt for Eren.

The teen was in his room, sitting on his bed with his face in his hands  
"Eren, its time to go"  
Eren nodded walked from the room, he took nothing with him and Levi sighed.  
"Weight for me down in the couch... alright?"  
Eren didn't reply and Levi hoped he'd heard him.

Sorting through Eren's wardrobe he found an old duffle bag and began packing all the things he thought Eren would need for school. Part of him still couldn't believe that Eren was finally letting him actually help. There was so much they'd have to do. Eren needed an STI test straight off the bat, he also needed more than a few good meals and a hair cut. Once he was sure he had everything they needed, he rejoined Eren in the lounge room and stuffed the bag of papers into the duffle bag, before zipping it closed.  
"Alright. Let's go"  
Eren nodded, he seemed suddenly unable to meet Levi's eyes. Levi would have found it cute if not for the situation.

*  
"What do you want? Bed or the couch... well it's a fold out..."  
"I'll take the couch. I don't want to ruin your bed..."  
Levi eyes Eren, he knew what Eren was trying to say  
"If I thought that was going to happen, you wouldn't have spent the last week sleeping next to me"  
Still he went and found up the spare bedding for the fold out couch and showed Eren how to use it.  
"I haven't got that much food here, so we'll need to go shopping, if that's alright with you...?"  
Eren hugged himself tighter  
"I... uh... I don't usually eat. So you don't have to go out of your way..."  
Levi frowned at him  
"I'll have you know I'm a pretty good cook! I promise I won't poison you..."  
"Uh... Grisha didn't like me touching his food..."  
Eren waved a hand over where the word thief was  
"Well Grisha isn't here and you need to start eating better. If your done we can go now?"  
Eren looked around the room before locating his backpack. Pulling out a few of the $100 bills from his stash he slid them into his wallet.  
"Oh that reminds me. We have a safe if you want to stow that away, it's in Kenny's room, but I'm sure he won't care..."  
Eren's eyes flashed with fear and he forced himself to calm down before nodding. He pulled the rest of it out and let Levi lead him to the safe.  
"Now the codes 0330, but you can go ahead and change it if you want"  
Eren shook his head and as soon as the safe opened he stuffed the cash inside, before closing it. 0330, he could remember that.

*  
The shopping mall was packed and Eren kept his head down the whole time, he felt like a small child as he trailed along behind Levi. He watched as Levi grabbed all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Even with the money he'd made from selling himself, Eren had mostly lived off instant noodles. Everything else seemed like effort.

"If you want, you can go pick out what you need for the bathroom, like a toothbrush and stuff..."  
Eren panicked, Levi was trying to get rid of him politely wasn't he?  
"Tch! Look, I'm not trying to get rid of you, besides all your shits already at my place. I just thought that maybe you'd like to do that alone. But it's fine, come on..."  
Levi moved towards the isle they needed, but Eren's legs wouldn't move. His eyes following a beautiful young woman, he didn't know her name, only that she was Zekes woman.  
"Oi! Brat! Quit staring into space!"  
Eren was snapped back to reality by Levi clicking his fingers in his face. He didn't mean to, but physically jumped back away from Levi.  
"Hey what's got you so jumpy?"  
Eren shook his head  
"It's nothing..."  
"Mhmm, I'll let it slide for now, only because the baskets getting heavy"  
Eren reached out and took it from Levi. He should at least be helpful right  
"I can carry it myself you know"  
"I know... just..."  
Levi nodded and the two headed to the toiletries section.

He grabbed the cheapest he could. He didn't really care that much, as long as they'd do the job. Levi on the other hand seemed to replace everything he put in, insisting that they were better. Eren nodded, though not completely sure.

At the checkout Eren rushed to pay but Levi out the transaction through on his card. Eren tried to ignore the pain he felt at the action. But then again, he supposed he understood not wanting to buy food with money from prostitution.  
The pair walked slowly back through the mall.

Levi panicked when he found Eren wasn't by his side. He turned around and found him a few stores back staring through the window of an optometrist.  
"You need glasses or something?"  
Eren blushed as he looked away. He'd needed glasses for years now, but he'd known better than to ask Grisha.  
"There's nothing to be ashamed of if you do, here hold the bags and I'll go see when the next available appointment is... alright?"  
Eren stood mutely as Levi moved away. He wondered how long it would be before the older teen kicked him out.  
"They can fit you in after school tomorrow, I put my uncle down as your guardian, and gave them my number, so if they call I'll just pretend to be him, alright?"  
Eren nodded slightly and Levi took the shopping from him.  
"Is there anywhere else you want to go? Anything you want to buy?"  
Eren shook his head  
"Alright, well we'll be back here tomorrow anyway, so if we think of anything, we'll just get it then"  
Eren nodded and fell into step slightly behind Levi. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic with all the people around and forced himself to remain calm. He was too shaken to catch the bus back, so he paid for a taxi instead. Levi said nothjng, but Eren could feel his watching.

*  
The next morning at school was awkward. Armin kept asking over and over why Eren had arrived with Levi, and it that meant they were finally a thing. It'd taken a lot not to snap at his friend and he was feeling shit before he even got to his locker.

Both he and Armin scrunched their noses in disgust. A used condom had been slid through the small vents at the top and its contents spilt over almost everything. Eren didn't think twice as he binned it all. Armin tried to be sympathetic about it all, but Eren couldn't find the effort to care. 

He got in trouble in every class that day for not having his books and had to endure the other students laughing at him, by the time school finished he was a total wreck. He bolted across the road as soon as he could and immediately lit a smoke. What he really wanted to do was cut, but that would have to wait until he got home.

Levi said nothing as he smoked, instead he pulled out one of his own and the two walked towards the mall.

The optometrist appointment ended up passing rather fast, although he couldn't say he was fond of the drops they'd used to dilate his pupils, but he only needed a week prescription and carried them in stock. He chose a thin green frame, which Levi seemed to like on him, so that was a small win.

He was very nearly smiling by the time they left. He had one pair of glasses and contacts for school. No way was Jean going to find out he needed glasses.  
"Alright? So do you need clothes or shoes?"  
Eren rolled his eyes  
"No, but I do need to go to the bookstore..."  
"Alright. Bookstore it is"  
He went straight to the school section, trying to source the ones he needed for class  
"Eren, don't you have school books?"  
"I did... but now I don't..."  
"If you don't mind, I should still have my old ones..."  
Eren stared at Levi in shock. He didn't really know what to feel. Having someone be nice to him... well it was nice, but really scary.  
"Uh... that would be awesome..."  
"One condition though. You tell me what happened to yours"  
Eren's face fell and he looked to his feet  
"Someone pushed a used condom into my locker... so I binned them..."  
Levi looked revolted  
"That's fucking feral, I would have too"  
Eren felt relief, part of him had expected Levi to laugh in his face.  
"While we're here did you want to take a quick look around? See if there's anything that takes your fancy?"  
Eren nodded. It'd been years since he owned a book not required for school. A few things caught his interests but nothing really stood out. The two teens left empty handed.

"I was thinking too, we'll need to make you a doctors appointment, you should probably get an STI check, just to make sure"  
Eren froze  
"I don't mean anything by it, and I'm not having a go at you. It's just better to be safe than sorry"  
Eren's face was bright red with embarrassment. He so totally did not want to be having this conversation with Levi.  
"If you want I can go with you..."  
Eren groaned and buried his face in his hands. Levi, shut up already!  
"Fine... just tell me where and when. But not at the hospital. I refused to go back to that place. Please don't make me go back there..."  
Levi nodded, though clearly confused.  
"Ok I'll set one up online when we get home. Did you want to eat here or at home tonight?"  
"Home."  
Eren hadn't meant to reply so fast or harshly. He just knew he couldn't eat much and when it came to eating in public... he completely forgot how  
"I... uh... mean, I have a ton of stuff to catch up on from today, especially now I can see properly  
"Alright. Home it is"

*  
Eren had spread everything across the fold out couch and Levi had been forced on to the recliner. He watched as Eren frowned at the work in front of him  
"Alright. Stop glaring at it, what's the matter?"  
"It's maths. I thought I'd be able to understand it better if I could see it... it now makes even less sense..."  
"And when's this all due?"  
"Tomorrow..."  
"All of it?"  
"Yes"  
"Not just the maths...?"  
"No. All of it."  
Levi let out a low whistle  
"Pass me a pencil. I'll do the maths and you then you can just copy over it"  
Eren's head shot up and he smiled gratefully as he passed his math work over.  
Given that he actually liked science, he pushed that to the back of the pile, so it'd be a treat at the end.  
Levi finished his maths so fast that Eren felt stupid and slipped into a flunk. This carried through until just before sunrise, when he finally finished.

He slipped quietly into the bathroom and broke apart one of the razors they'd picked up when they'd gone shopping. Levi would probably be mad if he knew, but without the drugs and alcohol, everything was just too overwhelming. He didn't hesitate before cutting long and shallow into the top of his thigh. The wounds were deeper than normal, but still shallow by his own standards. When he was finally numb, he looked down and the Criss cross of angry bloody lines. Stripping off the rest of his clothes he jumped in the shower and scrubbed himself until he started to bleed, it didn't matter how much he scrubbed, he still felt dirty. He could still feel Grisha on his skin and every other man he'd fucked to survive. The pain left him half hard, so he jerked off quickly and watched the semen and small traces of blood disappear down the drain. Angry tears welled in his eyes. Levi. He'd liked him for so long and now he was actually living with him and yet... he was disgusting and dirty. Levi would soon throw him out. He didn't deserve the mans kindness, or maybe it was all just a game. Maybe Levi wanted to break him, once this line of thought started, Eren couldn't shake it from his mind. He stood there crying until the shower ran cold and he finally emerged.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and snatched up the razor. He'd hide it in the couch for now, at least until he could find a better spot.

He dressed quietly and laid down on the fold out bed. It wasn't the comfiest place, but at least he wasn't out on the streets.

He didn't even realise he'd fallen asleep, not until Levi was shaking him awake. Telling him he had to eat before school.

The smell of the toast made his stomach turn and he bolted to the bathroom. He hadn't eaten much dinner the night before, only a few bites, so he was left retching over the bowl with nothing to bring up.  
He could feel Levi watching him and he wanted to sink into the ground and die.

*  
His eyes had been too sore from lack of sleep to even attempt putting contacts in. So he'd been forced to wear glasses and prayed that Jean wouldn't find him.

Armin complimented him on them, exclaiming he'd never even noticed that Eren might need them. The two of them sat together at lunch and given that PE was the last class, Eren asked Armin to look after them. He refused to use his locker, not after what had happened and he was afraid the same thing would happen to Levi's books.

Jean was waiting for him, the teen pouncing the second the bell rang and signalled the end of the day. Eren barely had time to register before he was smacked first face into a brick wall. His nose crunched and he realised immediately it was broken. He couldn't find the strength to fight back, not like the other week. He realised he was in serious trouble when Jean pulled down his pants. Reiner and Bertholt filming as he tried to fight. Jean wasn't gently as he shoved his fingers inside Eren, causing him to scream. The teen thrust them into him until Eren felt the blood begin to run down his thighs. It was only then that Jean released him and he sank to the ground. Jean wiped his hand off on the back of Eren's shirt before kicking the back of his head, so he smashed his face against the wall.

He didn't know how long he sat there. Only that he was still there when Levi finally found him. The teen immediately began to straighten his clothes up, and helped Eren stand. He tried to step but whimpered from the pain. He was too damn dizzy and soon collapsed against Levi. He didn't understand how Levi could touch him when he was like this, nor why Jean wouldn't just kill him. Oh yeah, right... he deserved this.

*  
Levi was beyond furious. Eren hadn't met him after school and his blonde friend had even come up to ask where Eren was. Apparently his name was Armin, it seemed familiar, but Levi knew he'd just forget it. Armin handed him Eren's glasses and told him that Eren had asked him to hold onto them as he had PE last block.

His mood only soured when he finally found the brat. The level of violence was beyond simple bullying. As soon as Eren was cleared, he was going to do something about it.

Levi pulled Eren up enough to pull his pants back up. His stomach churned at the smell of blood and he could see it spreading across the fabric of the pants. He thought that was bad enough, until Eren was standing and he could see the boy now had a very broken nose. He held Eren as the boy whimpered, trying to step. Instead Levi was forced to sweep him up and carry him against his chest. He hoped that Erwin was still around.

Eren was completely out of it, clearly in shock and disorientated. Levi struggled to keep him awake and talking. He'd been punch in the nose before and knew how painful it could be with even a slight break.

Levi found Erwin chatting to a small crowd of girls in the car park, all of which scampered as Levi approached. Erwin took one look at the bloodied Eren and sighed.  
"Put him in the back. But put down something first"  
Levi scowled at his friend. Just for that he slid himself into the backseat and pulled Eren onto his lap.  
"Erwin I need a doctor that won't ask too many questions..."  
Erwin shot him a look in the rear vision mirror, clearly unamused.  
"Levi he needs a fucking hospital..."  
"They'll ask too many questions there..."  
"Levi, if things are like this, than questions need to be asked"  
Eren whimpered against Levi's chest.  
"What about Hitch? She'd back in town right? Doesn't she work as a nurse?"  
"Levi, leave my sister out of this..."  
"Then find my an alternative..."

Erwin's alternative didn't happen. He drove to hospital, but not the same one Eren had been to before. That's was the one concession he'd make.  
Levi gently carried Eren in, he explained that Eren was his adopted brother and gave her Kenny's details with his phone number again. He felt Erwin glaring at him.

Eren was taken away and it was a few hours before Levi was allowed to see him, the brats nose was swollen and padded, he looked like raccoon with the two bruised eyes.  
Apparently it wasn't as bad it looked and Eren would be on painkillers for a couple of days. They'd also taken blood and run and STI panel, as Eren himself had admitted it was possible he could be carrying something. He was released into Levi's care, they'd called Kenny and he'd approved it, Levi had to bite his lip to prevent laughing at that and the blood panels had come up STI clean, but they still wanted him to take a weeks long course of antibiotics, just in case there were any hidden nasties.

 

*  
Eren struggled to walk back to Erwin's car, and when he tried to thank Erwin, the teen had brushed him off completely. He didn't blame Erwin at all, he was trash after all and didn't deserve Levi's help. He kept his lip bit the whole way home. Ignoring how much his arse hurt. The doctor who'd examined him didn't know about what Jean had done, Eren figured it would heal in time.

Levi tried to invite Erwin in for dinner but Erwin wouldn't have a bar of it. He openly glared at Eren and Eren hid his face. It really was like the blonde knew how disgusting he was.

Levi cooked pasta for dinner but it still hurt too much for Eren to eat, he wound up downing his pain meds and antibiotics after a single bite of food, only to vomit them back up, not even half an hour later.

It took forever to fall asleep that night and by morning he was a complete mess. Levi refused to let him go to school. He wanted to stay home himself, but Eren sent him away. Promising he'd call if he needed anything. That's how he ended up with Levi as his second contact in his phone. The other one being Zeke, after all, Zeke had brought him this phone for work. 

Eren had no idea what to do with himself for the day. He still couldn't sleep and every time he got up to do something, he ended up falling back down from dizziness.

*  
Eren was finally asleep when Levi returned from school. Sprawled across the fold out bed, only wearing boxers, blankets kicked off. Levi let his eyes roam over the teens boy. Even scarred up, Eren's body was lean and toned, Levi would be lying if said he felt nothing, looking at him.

Levi's phone rang and he jumped. Caller ID told him it was Kenny.

By the time he hung up the phone he was feeling less than happy, Kenny would be coming back next week, and he didn't know how Eren would take it. Kenny would of course be fine with Eren staying, maybe a little curious and it would probably lead to a conversation Levi was less than eager to have. It would mean he'd have to face the fact, that he did in fact have feelings for a broken brat named Eren Yeager.

He left Eren sleeping and checked out what was in the fridge, Levi had hoped Eren would at least attempt to eat something, but it was clear he hadn't. Closing the fridge he moved back to lounge room and settle in the recliner, spending the next few hours working on homework.

*  
Eren was in a world of misery when he awoke. His whole face was throbbing and was feeling more than a little nauseated. His eyes finally landed on Levi, the other teen seemingly oblivious to the fact Eren was now awake.

He groaned as he pushed himself up, he was sweaty and sticky and just wanted to shower, but he knew Levi would probably make him try and eat.  
"Look who's finally awake!"  
Levi's tone was joking, but Eren immediately panicked, he scrambled off the fold out couch and fell in a heap on the floor.  
"Eren...?"  
He waved a hand above the mattress, indicating that he was still living  
"Need a hand?"  
Given that Eren couldn't see Levi, the floor instead copped the glare. He forced himself up and clung to the wall as he slowly got to his feet. He used the wall to support him all the way to the shower.

As soon as the hot water hit his skin he was retching. His whole body shook from the effort, desperate to expel something that wasn't even there. He didn't know if he felt better or worse after the shower.

Levi was still sitting in the recliner when Eren returned to the room. It was clear that he wanted to say something and Eren wanted him to spit it out already.  
"Just say it..."  
Levi raised an eyebrow and Eren slumped down onto the fold out couch.  
"You don't need to be so sad, my uncles coming back home next week, you don't have to leave , so don't think I'm kicking you out..."  
Eren shook his head, to him that's exactly what it sounded like.  
"Eren, I'm serious, he's not gonna mind at all you being here. He may be a bit unusual, but he's alright for the most part"  
Eren nodded, he'd have to pack, it would be better to leave tonight, that way Levi could erase all trace he was here.

"You need to take your meds, is pasta alright? You barely had anything last night"  
Eren nodded, he didn't feel hungry at all.

Levi moved into the kitchen to microwave the pasta from last night, it was still too early for dinner, but he was sure Eren hadn't eaten today.

Eren picked at the food, he forced himself to eat a few forkfuls, but that was all he could manage. He downed the pills Levi gave him and crawled back up in bed. He'd wait until Levi went to sleep and then clean up all his stuff, he was already feeling lonely, it seemed he had enjoyed the stay more than he thought.

*  
Levi woke early the next morning, the sun wasn't even up. He spent a few hours reading before getting up, he didn't want to disturb Eren. He knew the brat would still be fretting over what he said yesterday. 

Entering the lounge room he frowned, the couch was folded up and the blankets neatly followed at one end. Even though he knew he wouldn't get a reply he still called out for Eren. He went and checked the safe, Eren had half cleared it out, a small pile of crumpled notes left in the corner.

Hopefully he'd be at school and Levi would be able to talk to him there. The whole place felt bigger and emptier than he'd ever remembered. 

*  
Eren had staggered home. His shoes scuffing against the concrete pathway, he didn't have the strength to lift his feet.

Unlocking the door he pushed it open, the stench of alcohol hit him instantly. He pulled himself together and bolted up to his bedroom, throwing the two bags he had under the bed.  
"Eren!!!"  
His blood ran cold as Grisha screamed his name. He'd hoped the man would stay gone, given that Zeke was in jail now.

He didn't even make it back down the stairs before Grisha was on him  
"Where the fuck have you been! I come back and the house is a fucking pig sty and there's no fucking food! This is how you repay me?"  
Eren tried to struggle but Grisha grabbed him by the foot and pulled him down the stairs, his still tender back flaring with pain.  
"I'm sorry!"  
"No you're fucking not! You fucking ruined everything and now Zekes in jail!"  
Grisha took his face in his hands and slammed Eren's head back against the floor. Tingling ran up the back of Eren's skull and he wondered if the man would finally kill him. He let himself pass out.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he woke up. Grisha had chained him to the kitchen table. Thick chain around his leg ankle, lead back to a very solid table leg. Each end of the chain was padlocked, and he couldn't move well enough  
"They'll be here soon, I expect you behave"  
Eren shook his head trying to figure out what was happening, it was only then that he realised he was naked, he tried to curl into himself, Grisha closed the distance and booted him in the ribs  
"Don't make look bad! These are some serious people..."  
Eren nodded and Grisha moved away, before returning  
"Open your mouth..."  
Eren had no idea what it was, only that the small white pill would take reality away, he downed it without a second thought.

*  
Levi was becoming worried. Eren wasn't answering his texts or calls. It'd been 3 days since Eren had left and the loneliness was leaving Levi agitated, even Erwin seemed to picked up on it and stopped teasing him about Eren. 

That afternoon Levi asked Erwin to come with him to see Eren, Kenny was coming back that night, but he still had time to at least check on the brat. Erwin had reluctantly agreed.

Levi frowned at the car in the driveway at Eren's, he wondered if that meant Grisha was home. Jogging up the steps, Levi tried to feel brave. If Eren was in trouble Levi wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his head, although he had to admit that seeing what Grisha had done to Eren made him slightly scared. Erwin followed behind him and he was grateful for his friends solid presence.

Knocking on the door, he heard a loud curse before the door was thrown open. Almost immediately Levi could hear Eren, half sobbing, half pleading.  
"You here for him? Who sent you? He'll cost you 200 upfront, extra if it's both of you"  
Levi's body acted without him even realising. His fist smashed into the taller mans nose and the drunken man staggered back, smiling.  
"Eren! Your friends are here... why don't I send them in..."  
Levi heard Eren scream followed by a thud. Erwin shoved him further into the house while moving towards Grisha.

Levi wanted to vomit at the sight before him. Eren was slumped across the kitchen table, under the bulk of some disgusting old man. The teen was struggling but the man had a knife against his throat.  
"Get the fuck off him"  
"Levi... just leave... please..."  
Levi's movement was halted by Eren's quiet words. The bastard they had been fucking Eren moaned loudly and Levi could tell he'd just cum. It was more than disgusting. Levi waited until the man had pulled the knife away from Eren's throat before lunging at him. He beat the man until he was a bloody pulp.

"Jesus, Levi get off of him!"  
Levi let Erwin pull him away, immediately moving to where Eren had slumped to the floor, the teen shied away and flinched at Levi's movements.  
"Erwin, help me lift that table side, we'll slide the chain off"  
Erwin moved across to where Levi was indicating.  
"Leave it... it's alright... Grisha's right, I deserve this..."

Erwin looked to Levi for explanation, before following his lead and lifting the table, the chain sliding off, easily enough.  
"Erwin, where's Grisha?"  
"I left him unconscious in the doorway, that should stop anyone coming in"  
"See if you can find the keys"  
Erwin nodded and moved away. Levi squatted down in front of Eren  
"Hey brat, think you can move?"  
Eren shook his head and pulled himself into a tighter ball.  
"You don't have to worry, I'm taking you back home tonight, and I'm sure Erwin would have called the cops"  
Eren looked further panicked at Levi's words and Levi wasn't sure what to say  
"I didn't find the keys but I found this in the lounge room"  
Erwin brandished a set of bolt cutters and Eren whimpered  
"No... no... no..."  
Levi tried to calm him down as he began to flail about.  
"Erwin, just do the one around his ankle, I'll hold him still"

Erwin pulled the chain to get a clear angle at the padlock and slipped through.  
"Levi, look at this..."  
Levi's eyes fell to where Erwin was pointing. Eren's little toe had been cut off, probably by the bolt cutters.  
"You called the cops right?"  
"Yeah they should be here soon..."  
Eren whimpered and rubbed his now free ankle, the chain had rubbed the skin off.  
"Why did you call them... its only going to make him mad..."  
Levi looked at Erwin who shrugged.  
"Eren... the cops are going to take him away and lock him up..."  
Eren shook his head  
"You don't know him, he has so many friends... you shouldn't have interrupted, now he's going to kill you to..."  
Eren dissolved in tears and sirens wailed in the distance  
"Go flag then down, I'll stay here with him"  
Erwin disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later  
"Grisha's gone..."  
"I thought you said he was knocked out..."  
"And I was sure he was!"  
Eren was shaking so hard that Levi didn't know what to do.  
"Erwin stay with him, I'll go meet the police"  
Erwin nodded and Levi moved away from Eren. The teen reached out for him but let his hand fall.

Meeting the police out the front Levi filled them in on the situation before leading them inside. One of them called for back up and the other called for an ambulance. Both were clearly disgusted by the situation.

Eren could barely speak so the police lead the conversation, they didn't get very far before Eren shut down completely and refused to talk. Levi's phone started ringing and he answered it without thinking. It was Kenny asking where he was. Briefly he explained that his friend was in trouble and they were with the cops, waiting on an ambulance. Kenny told Levi to call him when he knew what hospital Levi's friend was being taken to, so he could come meet them there.

The paramedics came in and Eren sat there like he didn't even notice them. Wrapping a blanket around him, he was moved out to the ambulance. Levi went with him, Erwin said he'd answer any other questions and remained at the house.

*  
Eren was unconscious by the time they reached the hospital, Levi couldn't believe it'd come to this. He watched Eren being wheeled away, forced to sit in the waiting room. Pulling out his phone he sent a quick message to Kenny, his uncle promising to be there soon.

It was barely half and hour before the tall man swept into the waiting room, immediately taking the seat next to Levi.

Levi waited a moment, gathering his thoughts before explaining to Kenny what they'd walked into. His uncle was clearly disgusted, and promised to go find out what was going on.

The news wasn't great, but it could be worse. Eren had fractured ribs and suspected internal bleeding. Grisha had beat the shit out of him and his nose was rebroken. Levi was furious. Why hadn't asked him for help? Why had he gone home? He finally broke down and Kenny held him close.

The two sat quietly in the waiting room, the police came and took Levi's full statement, Kenny organising so that Eren would be taken into his custody temporarily and a warrant was out for Grishas arrest.

It was nearing on morning before they hospital would let them see Eren, the boy in a medically induced coma. They were only allowed 5 minutes and Kenny had to pull Levi out the room, he didn't want to leave his broken friend.

*  
The police had called the next afternoon, Eren's house had been processed and Levi was now allowed to collect the things Eren would need. Kenny drove him over.

Levi pushed everything out of his mind as he set about packing Eren's things. It's taken him a while to find that Eren had stashed his bags under his bed.

He quickly packed everything he thought Eren would need and was soon headed out the house, he wanted nothing more to burn it down, the whole place left him feeling dirty.

Levi wanted to go check on Eren, but his uncle said he'd already called and Eren couldn't have visitors today.

Instead the pair headed home, Levi setting up his room for Eren to use, he didn't want the brat sleeping in the lounge room alone, Kenny let him do as he pleased. He also texted Erwin back, his friend having messaged him, asking about Eren, in the morning.

He also retrieved Eren's cash from the safe, he didn't want Kenny asking too many questions, he stashed it all under his mattress. He hoped that Eren's medical bills wouldn't cost him too much.

*  
4 days later Eren was released from hospital, he froze when he saw Levi and Kenny waiting for him. Keeping his mouth shut he filled out all the paper work and let with them. He didn't know what to say to Levi, Eren already knew Kenny. The man a close friend of Zekes. He didn't want to ruin Levi's life. He decided to keep his mouth shut, hopefully he'd be able to skip town soon.  
Kenny dropped the two teens off, apparently he had something to take care of and Eren let Levi lead him inside.  
"You're in my room..."  
Eren nodded and followed Levi through, immediately climbing onto the bed.  
"Do you want a drink or anything?"  
Eren shook his head and pulled the covers over his head. Levi sat on the end of the bed, he didn't want to let Eren out of his sight.

*  
When Eren started whimpering Levi woke him up. The brat immediately broke down into sobs and Levi tried to pull him into a hug, only to have Eren start yelling at him. Telling him how he was dirty and how Levi shouldn't touch him, Levi ignored him and pushed past Eren's arms, to pull him in close. Eren sobbed himself back to sleep.

Kenny didn't come back that night and Levi didn't think anything of it. He'd tried to cook dinner and clean a little, while Eren slept, but his heart just wasn't in it. He called it a night and curled into Eren, spooning up behind him and resting his face against Eren's shoulders. Sleep came easy that night. Eren was safe, warm and felt like home.

Kenny wasn't home again and Eren spent most of the day sleeping. Levi had contacted Erwin and Erwin would be coming over later with the work they'd both missed, apparently the whole school was buzzing with rumours.

Levi had nothing to do, so he settled himself next to Eren in bed, his phone under the pillow, he still had a while before Erwin would call him to say he was here.

Eren stirred a few times, but never really woke. His face was tense the whole time and Levi couldn't stop staring, Eren's lips looked so soft. He scolded himself, this brat had been through hell, and he was fucked up for thinking like this at a time like now.

His phone finally began to vibrate and he slid it out, declining the call. It was only Erwin after all. Sliding out of the bed he made his way to the front door and let his friend in. The who migrating to the couch. Eren's missed work was nearly 5 times that of Levi's few papers, Levi wasn't impressed, the school had surely been contacted.

Erwin filled him in on all the goss, the rumours around Eren ranged from he'd been bashed to he was dead. No one was close to the truth though. Levi nodded, he felt totally over his head with everything.

Erwin stayed for a few hours, he talked Levi through his homework and the things he'd missed in class, Levi did offer to cook him dinner but Erwin politely declined. Not long after, Eren finally woke up. Levi helped him into the lounge room and settled him down on the couch, before finding his medication. Eren downed the pills and the two sat in an awkward silence. Levi waiting for Eren to talk and Eren waiting for Levi to yell at him.  
"You don't need to worry, Kenny's not here..."  
Eren nodded and relaxed a little.  
"Did you want to talk about it?"  
"Not really..."  
"Will you at least answer something for me than?"  
Eren eyes him suspiciously  
"Why didn't you call for help? Am I that unreliable?"  
Eren shook his head  
"Grisha attacked me as soon as I got home, I was already... chained... when I woke up..."  
Levi nodded, he felt a small glimmer of relief. Eren hadn't been able to call for him.  
"You alright?"  
Eren's words snapped him back to reality  
"No really? But doing better than you"  
Levi smiled and Eren smiled back faintly.

The front door opened and Eren immediately jumped and flinched  
"It's just Kenny..."  
Levi reassured him and soon Kenny walked into the room  
"Hey Eren, I'm Kenny, I know we met before but you were pretty out if it, you'll be here a while so make yourself at home. If you need anything make Levi get it for you..."  
Eren nodded slightly. He wondered if Levi could hear his heart pounding. He felt sick and wanted to scream. If Kenny knew Zeke, then there was a good chance he knew Grisha  
"Everything alright Eren?"  
Eren nodded again, wishing for the other man to disappear already.

Levi moved away and followed Kenny into the kitchen  
"What do you two want for dinner?"  
Levi shrugged  
"Pizza it is then, Eren should be alright with that, right?"  
"Yeah should be fine. Where were you?"  
Kenny looked at Levi curiously  
"Ah, a friend of mine needed a hand. Took longer than expected"  
Levi nodded, after all how was he supposed to know that said friend was Grisha.

Kenny ordered pizza while Levi went back Eren. The teen had curled into a tiny ball, Levi vaguely remembered that due to his ribs he wasn't supposed to, but he didn't want to upset Eren. He hated seeing the boy cry.

Eren was timid as he tried to eat the pizza, Levi couldn't believe he'd never had pizza before. Eren barely made it through a slice before declaring he'd had enough. Levi wanted him to at least try eating more, but didn't want Eren vomiting up what he'd already eaten. He watched as Eren excused himself to go shower. He wondered if Eren would be alright and Kenny told him to get help him.

Levi knocked lightly on the door and heard a thud, pushing it open he found Eren struggling to get back on his feet, immediately he rushed over and helped the teen up  
"Pants are hard..."  
Levi smiled accepting Eren's explanation.  
"Let me help you"  
Eren shied away before nodding, Levi stripped him carefully, he looked at his ribs and foot.  
"Wait here, I need to get some cling wrap, don't want your bandages getting wet..."

Quickly retrieving the cling wrap Levi sat Eren down on the bath edge and wrapped the two sites  
"Can you stand?"  
Eren nodded, wobbling slightly, Levi sighed.  
"I'll turn the water on for you, then I'll strip, your aren't going to be able to wash yourself properly, you already look exhausted"  
"No... I'm fine really..."  
Eren was embarrassed enough, sitting naked in front of Levi. All he could think about was how good Levi would feel as he rode him.  
"Eren, there's nothing to be ashamed of, I've got the same junk you do"  
Eren blushed beet red and nodded slowly.

Levi stripped quickly, Eren's face only got redder and internally Levi was smirking, he knew the effect that he was having on Eren and the brat was yet to realise to effect he was having on him.  
Looping an arm around Eren's waist he helped him into the shower. 

Levi worked quickly, loving the small moans Eren didn't even seem to know he was letting out. Once Eren was washed and rinsed, Levi gave himself a quick wash down.  
Levi turned the shower off and helped Eren out the shower, he passed Eren his towel and let the teen begin to dry himself off, Levi dried himself off before starting to unwrap Eren's foot  
"Eren... I know you probably don't want to hear this, but we'll need to go back to the hospital tomorrow, your dressings got wet..."  
Eren looked panicked and Levi couldn't blame him.  
"I'll ask Kenny about it, it might be better to take you tonight..."  
Eren shook his head  
"I don't want to be anymore trouble, if you have a bandage and some gauze I can just do it myself..."  
Eren shrunk back under Levi's glare. Levi wasn't impressed that Eren wasn't taking his own health seriously.  
Levi wrapped his towel around his waist and scooped to pick Eren up, Eren squealed in surprise  
"What are you doing?! I can walk!"  
"You're not walking on it until I've talked to Kenny, Levi carried Eren out and through to his room, he dressed quickly and found out some clothes for Eren. Throwing them over to him he told him to wait there.

*  
Eren watched Levi leave. He was relieved that Levi hadn't seemed to notice he was half hard. He towelled himself roughly and quickly, before dressing, he didn't want Kenny seeing him naked... again.

"Jesus, you weren't supposed to drown him!"  
Eren flinched as Kenny's voice boomed announcing his presence. He forced himself to relax as the man came over and took his foot in his hands  
"Levi its soaked. Sorry Eren, it's a hospital trip for you... Levi you should have put him in the bath instead, that way he wouldn't have had to get his foot wet.  
Eren watched Levi nod and his heart fell, he didn't want Levi getting in trouble over something that hadn't been intentional.

*  
Levi was still brooding on the way to the hospital. Kenny was right, what was he thinking... if he'd put Eren in the bath the teen probably would have been more comfortable too... he groaned internally. He wasn't going to deny that he hadn't enjoyed having Eren moaning under his hands. 

Helping Eren out, he held him close as they made their way into the ER. For a Friday night, it wasn't that busy and Eren was taken in pretty soon.  
Levi hadn't missed the panic in Eren's eyes as an older nurse came and took him through. She told Levi he had to wait and Levi was less than impressed.

Eren was in tears when he finally came back. The nurse didn't look too happy either. Levi gathered Eren into his arms, whispering into his ear  
"Hey, you alright?"  
Eren nodded against him  
"Can we go home now?"  
"Yeah"  
Levi could feel her eyes on them as they left. He made a mental note to ask Eren when they got home.

Kenny went straight to bed when they got home. Eren wasn't sorry to see him go. He continued to cling to Levi. His emotions raw from his run in with Susanne. Levi lowered him down onto the bed and Eren crawled into the middle of it.  
"Want to tell me what happened?"  
Eren shook his head  
"Eren it's alright... I'm not going to be mad..."  
"I just... I don't like that hospital... or hospitals in general..."  
"It was that nurse, wasn't it...?"  
"She told me off for lying about Grisha... she said there was no way he could do something like that and that I was making it all up..."  
Levi was seething  
"How fucking dare she"  
Eren let a small whimper out and Levi seemed to realise he was scaring him  
"I'm sorry... I didn't meant to scare you... what do you say we get some sleep?"  
Eren nodded and Levi climbed in next to him, Eren shifted away slightly, even if he'd been clinging to Levi before, his emotions were too mixed up and he didn't want to be touched.  
"I'm sorry..."  
Eren mumble  
"It's alright... you don't need to apologise. Just get some sleep"

*  
The weekend went too fast for Levi's liking. The two teens worked on Eren's homework and watched movies on the couch. Quiet often Levi would look down and find Eren napping in his lap. Kenny was away Saturday and returned late Sunday afternoon. 

Monday found Levi very reluctantly getting out of bed. He needed to go back to school and he had a small pile of Eren's work to drop off. He desperately wanted Eren to ask him to stay, but he didn't. He was quiet and withdrawn as gave Levi a small wave goodbye.

*  
Eren was terrified the second Levi walked out the door. It was just him and Kenny today. He hid under the blankets, pretending to sleep, until Kenny came into the room and pulled the blankets off him. He gasped at the coolness that engulfed him  
"Right, you better not have said anything about me to Levi"  
Eren shook his head, he couldn't speak, he was too scared  
"It's disgusting the way he takes care of you. But that's alright, he's not here now, and I know how good you are with your mouth"  
Eren tried to shift away, but Kenny grabbed him by his injured foot and pulled him back, his other hand already pulling his limp dick free. Eren's eyes widen and he struggled harder  
"Don't even pretend you don't want this"  
Kenny palmed his dick and released Eren's foot, grabbing Eren's head, he pulled Eren's face up to his dick  
"Suck it..."  
Eren shook his head  
"Suck it or I'll tell Levi the truth about you"  
Eren nodded and complied, be fought hard not to just bite the man. Levi didn't deserve to lose the last of him family. He gagged and coughed as Kenny finally came down his throat. He winked at Eren as he readjusted himself, throwing down a small plastic ziplock baggie. Eren eyed and Kenny laughed.  
"It's what whores like you want isn't it?"  
Eren said nothing as the man left, he waited until he was completely gone before quickly swallowing the small pink pill, once again, he didn't care what it was.

*  
Levi was confused, Eren was messaging every few minutes and none of it was making sense. He tried calling him between classes but all he got was Eren giggling on the other end. It made no sense, Eren shouldn't have access to anything other than his painmeds, and that was only when Kenny gave them to him. He tried to push it from his mind, but wound up being unable to concentrate and skipped his last class.

Kenny wasn't there when Levi got home and Levi wasn't happy at all. His uncle was supposed to know better.  
"Eren!"  
"Leevi!"  
Eren was sitting on his bed, completely naked and not caring.  
"Levi!!"  
Eren went to climb from the bed but stubbed his toe, he let out a small "ow" and pouted at Levi. Levi could feel the blood rushing to his dick and scolded himself. The brat was clearly high.  
"Eren. Are you high?"  
Eren giggled as Levi pushed him back down onto the bed. He found Eren's discarded boxers and man handled them onto Eren. It was so tempting to reach out and touch the teens erection, Eren already leaking precum. Instead he focussed one Eren's eyes, pupils were wide and only a small sliver of the green visible.  
"Eren where'd you get the drugs?"  
Eren cocked his head and smiled widely, like Levi was an idiot  
"I was a good boy, I sucked him even though I didn't want to... do he paid me"  
Levi tried not to be disgusted  
"Eren, you're safe now, you don't have to sell yourself, no ones going to hurt you..."  
Eren's laugh physically hurt. Levi was furious, but it's not like Eren was in any real condition to talk about it.  
Levi tried to ignore Eren's wandering hands, he hadn't even told Eren he liked him and there was no way they could do anything sexual, Eren was still recovering and not in his right mental state. But fuck he was making it hard for Levi to say no.  
"Hey Levi... why won't you fuck me... everyone else does... am I too dirty for you? That's it isn't it... but I feel so good"  
Levi closed his eyes. He really didn't know what the fuck to say. Eren loosened his grip and Levi felt the bed move as Eren dropped back. He winced as he realised Eren was jerking off behind him.  
He started to move away, but then Eren started moaning and Levi couldn't help but look back. Eren was laying there with his legs spread, one hand playing with his arse and the other jerking him off. Levi swallowed hard. Fuck he wanted him bad  
"Levi... play... with me..."  
Levi was hard, painfully hard. But he also refused to give in. He backed away, watching as Eren orgasmed, his back arching off the bed and spurts of semen landed on his chest. Levi bolted from the room, trying to ignore how much it hurt to walk. He locked himself in the bathroom and jerked himself off. He felt like he was betraying Eren, but after that show... well he was only human. He moaned Eren's name as he came in his own hand. He looked down at the semen and wished it was Eren's. The brat would taste so good. He wiped himself clean and flushed the evidence away. He rinsed his hands twice and left the bathroom. He stood outside his bedroom, he could hear Eren's moans through the door and he forced himself away. Instead he planted himself in the lounge room and turned the TV right up. He tried to pay attention to it, but all he could think of was Eren.

Kenny didn't come back until late that night, Eren had fallen silent a few hours ago and Levi hadn't been game enough to check on him, though he was sure he'd need a shower. Kenny wished him goodnight and Levi sighed, he couldn't hide out in the lounge room forever.

Eren was sprawled on his back still, spots of dried semen across his chest. He was completely out of it, actually looking peaceful in his sleep. Levi didn't want to wake him, but Eren really needed to clean up.  
Leaving Eren for the few extra minutes, Levi went and partially filled the bathtub. Returning to the room, he shook Eren's shoulders, but Eren didn't stir. Manhandling Eren he carried him into the bathroom, grateful the cling wrap was still in there.

He wrapped Eren's chest and lowered him into the water, Eren mumbled slightly, but didn't stir. Levi worked quietly as he scrubbed the teen clean. There was blood under Eren's nails and he hoped the teen hadn't torn himself reopen. Once he was done he dried Eren and sat him on the floor. The sheets needed to be stripped and he hoped Eren wouldn't remember the afternoon when he woke up. He'd probably die of embarrassment. Laying Eren out on the bed, Levi dressed him in a lose pair of cut off shorts and climbed into bed behind him. He rested Eren's head on his chest and wrapped his arms around the brat, this was nice. This he could get used to.

*  
Levi wasn't blind or stupid, over the next week Eren became increasingly withdrawn and refused to touch Levi at all, he'd completely holed up in Levi's room and Levi didn't know what to do. Eren seemed to be suffering but refused to tell him what was wrong at all.

It was now Tuesday and Eren was preparing to go back to school. He'd missed so much that there was a high chance he'd been held back a year. The school completely unsympathetic towards what he'd been through. 

Levi stayed with Eren until Eren's friend Armin caught up with them. He could tell Eren was smiling fakely for his friends sake and Levi tried not to be worried, he stayed with the two teens until the bell rang, signalling it was time for them to all head to their seperate classes, Levi walked part way with Armin, exchanging mobile numbers and promising to arrange a time for Armin to come hang out at Levi's. Armin thanked him for looking after Eren, he'd known something was wrong, but not what. He was relieved Eren found someone he could trust enough to talk to.

Levi was still smiling as he walked into class.

*  
Eren on the other hand wasn't having such a great time. Crutches made his movements awkward and he knew everyone was staring. He couldn't even stay focused on Miss Hanji's experiments with fire. The woman was not amused and he found himself with extra homework, he was thankful he'd finished the pile they'd given him before.

By lunchtime he was headed for a breakdown. He was jumpy and ha head throbbed, but there was no way that he was going home, Kenny was still there. It seemed the man had no intention of leaving anytime soon. The pills weren't worth the guilt he felt when he looked at Levi, so they were now hidden in Levi's room, awaiting a time when he really needed to lose himself.

The rest of the day seemed to take forever, the only good thing being he managed to stay clear of Jean and his goons. 

Armin and Levi were both together when he stepped out the building, Armin immediately moved to take his bag and Levi greeted him by checking his forehead for fever. Eren felt a little hot, but he assured them he was fine. He didn't want to tell them it was because he wasn't taking drugs. 

Kenny left the moment he realised Eren and Levi weren't alone. Eren was grateful but worried the man would set his eyes on Armin. His friend was tiny and delicate looking, and more importantly innocent. 

The three teens sat around just chatting about random things, Armin left a little after 6, promising to text when he got home. Eren had fallen asleep on the couch, about 10 minutes earlier.

*  
Levi scrubbed his face and checked Eren's temperature, he defiantly had a low grade fever. Picking up Eren's bag he frowned at how heavy it was. Opening it he found a thick stack of homework. He was less than amused. Stuffing it back in he slung Eren's bag over his shoulder before picking Eren up and carrying him to his room. Eren was mumbling in his sleep and Levi laid him gently down. Eren didn't fight him as he stripped him down to his boxers. Red cuts covered both thighs and it was clear Eren had lost even more weight off his thin frame. Things were getting to the point where Eren would soon need professional help. He pulled the top sheet up to Eren's belly button, he didn't want Eren to over heat.

Sitting at the desk in his room Levi pulled out Eren's homework. Most of it was science. Levi knew Hanji, it was more of a "friend of a friend", kind of thing. The Hanji he knew wouldn't just pile up the work like this. He'd have to talk to her about it.

Levi jumped when Eren started talking in his sleep, he was begging someone to leave him alone. Levi crossed to the bed and reached down to wake Eren, just as the brat moaned out a name  
"Kenny..."  
Levi pulled his hand away, his breath hitched and his chest felt tight. He tried to calm down, there was more than one man in the world named Kenny. Sure his uncle wasn't perfect, but he wouldn't stoop that low... 

Sitting on the edge of the bed Levi cradled his face in is hands. He couldn't get the idea out of his head and didn't know what to do. Pulling out his phone he called Erwin.

It didn't take long before Erwin agreed to come over, Levi had asked him to bring his video camera, he'd told Erwin he was concerned Eren was cutting again and wanted proof. Erwin was a little confused but agreed. Levi chews his fingernails right back, while he waited. A practice he found completely revolting and never did. 

Erwin seemed to take forever and Levi pretty much demanded a crash course on how to use the camera. Erwin didn't pry as to how Eren was doing. Erwin left after a few minutes and Levi went to his room to hide the camera. Eren was still moaning in his sleep and this time Levi woke him.  
"Eren, you doing alright..."  
Eren shook his head, his voice was scratchy  
"Feel like shit..."  
"You better not have a cold..."  
"Nah, it's alright... it's just withdrawal... my system doesn't know how to function without pills..."  
Levi frowned, he didn't like how casual Eren's words were.  
"Sit up, I'll get you some water"  
Eren nodded.

Eren wasn't in bed when Levi returned, instead he found the teen vomiting in the bathroom. He winced in sympathy. When Eren had stopped vomiting he took the glass, pressing it to his forehead.  
"Eren, do I need to take you to hospital or something?"  
Eren shook his head  
"Nah, it'll pass"  
"You want to sit up or go back to bed?"  
"I need to do homework..."  
"Alright"

*  
Eren tried hard to concentrate but the words seemed to keep jumping and he threw down his own in disgust. Levi shot hm a glance  
"I can't fucking read... the words keep moving..."  
Eren carefully removed his glasses, placing them down on the papers.  
"How about thinking? Can you think properly?"  
Eren stared at Levi, he could think well enough but had no idea what Levi was getting at.  
"If I read you the questions, do you think you can answer. I'll write them down for you"  
Eren nodded 

The rest of the night was somewhat frustrating for the both of them. Levi would only write what Eren answered and Eren's answers were starting to make no sense. It ended with Eren storming off in a huff and Levi sitting on the couch laughing. Eren stripped quickly and slid into bed. The sheets felt scratchy against his skin, and he couldn't get comfortable. He was still tossing and turning when Levi came in. The older teen pulling him close, Levi didn't seem to care that his body was burning and he was sweating like crazy.

*  
Eren was still sick when Levi woke up, there was no way he was going to school so Levi left him sleeping. He showered quickly and set the camera to record, he ate breakfast and gathered up Eren's homework. Leaving early he headed to school, heading straight to Hanji's class room. The older woman already there and intent in setting something on fire, he watched silently until she finally noticed him. Smiling broadly she invited him in and he closed the door behind him.

Pulling out Eren's homework he passed them over to her. She raised an eyebrow  
"Don't worry, its my handwriting and his answers, he's home today with a fever"  
Hanji didn't look happy  
"And here I was thinking you came to visit me..."  
Levi flashed her a smile, the most charming he could manage  
"I did! Well that and I wanted to know how he was doing in class..."  
"Levi, you know I can't talk about another student with you!"  
She sounded mock outraged.  
"Even when he's living with me now?  
"I heard as much, I didn't think it was true though... what happened to the Levi Ackerman, who didn't let anyone too close?"  
"Shit went down and Kenny's he's temporary guardian now"  
Hanji nodded  
"Eren's a bright kid, but the last few months... not so much, he pretty much day dreams ever class now... that's why he has so much homework"  
Levi nodded, that made sense  
"Yeah, he's been sick for a while, but things should be getting now..."  
Hanji raised her hands in defeat  
"Alright? I get it, I'll let you help him with his homework, just try get him to perk up enough to concentrate in class"  
Levi smiled at her, the two reaching a silent agreement behind the words. Levi left to find Erwin, and Hanji went back to burning things.

*  
Eren hadn't messaged him all day and Levi couldn't stop wandering what was going on back at home. Kenny's car had been in the driveway when he left.

The day seemed to take forever, Armin had messaged asking about Eren and Levi said he had a slight cold and promised to update him later.

Levi jogged home, Kenny's car no longer in the driveway.  
Opening the door he called Eren's name and got a weak cough for a reply. Dropping his bag he moved to the kitchen and got a glass of water for Eren and some ibuprofen. He knocked gently before entering. Eren was a complete mess, still suffering from fever. He helped the teen with the pills and drink the water, Eren scrunched his nose up  
"I fucking stink"  
Levi smiled as Eren coughed, at least Eren seemed to be getting his sense of humour back  
"Bath or shower?"  
"Bath!"  
Levi raised an eyebrow  
"Grisha never let me have a bath and half the time I was too afraid he'd come home and find me having one"  
"Alright bath it is, loop your arms around my shoulders"  
Eren obeyed but still gasped slightly as Levi pulled him up from the bed.

Levi helped Eren out of his shirt, before Eren kicked him  
"Keep the door open and let me know when you want out"  
Eren waved a hand and Levi went back to the bedroom. He waited until he heard the running water, before pulling down the camera. He rewound the tape and prayed he'd see nothing more than Eren sleeping.

His stomach twisted a Kenny stumbled in, Eren tried to move away but Kenny seemed to say something that made him obey immediately. As soon as Kenny loosened his pants Levi snapped the small screen shut. He couldn't believe it. He was beyond revolted. He wanted to kill Kenny. Eren was supposed to be safe here, no one was supposed to be hurting him. He didn't know what to say to Eren, he'd totally let the boy down. How long had this been happening? Did Eren know Kenny before they picked him at the hospital? If so did that mean Kenny knew Grisha. Levi wanted to cry from the frustration. He couldn't let Eren know he knew. It would break the boy further.

"Levi..."  
Levi jumped and nearly dropped the camera. He slipped it into the desk draw, he'd talk to Kenny tonight about it.  
"Coming!"  
Levi moved back to the bathroom, hating the way Eren immediately frowned at him  
"You ready to get out brat?"  
Eren nodded and Levi helped him out. Neither said anything about the angry red marks, Levi honestly wanted to explode but he just felt too sick.  
Eren seemed to know something was up, he let Levi help him to bed and curled up immediately. Levi wanted to strip the bed and burn the sheets. Eren didn't deserve any of this.

*  
Eren wouldn't eat dinner and Levi didn't force him, even he had no appetite, instead he sat in the recliner waiting for Kenny to come home. He'd made a copy of the video and it was now sitting in Erwin's email for safe keeping. He'd already told Erwin not to open it. His friend agreed, not even questioning him.

Kenny rolled in just after midnight. He was clearly not expecting Levi to be awake.  
"What's up kid"  
Levi bit his tongue, he couldn't just start yelling.  
"Come watch this with me? Erwin leant me his camera"  
Kenny moved over and plonked down on the couch next to him, Levi had to fight the disgust and not just punch the man. Opening the small screen, he hit play.  
Kenny was not impressed, the camera was torn from Levi's hands and thrown across the room. He transformed into a stranger. Levi flew at him, Kenny laughed easily deflecting the blows  
"How could you! How could you do that to him"  
Kenny shoved him back against the wall and Levi tried to fight back  
"You have no idea, how do you think I felt after what that blonde bastard friend of yours beat on Grisha!"  
Kenny's eyes were wide with rage and Levi realised he might be in over his head  
"That's not the only copy, I took precautions. It's already online! I want you to leave. I want you to leave both of us alone, or I'll take that video and the rest of the evidence to the cops"  
"Why not just dob me in right now, too much of a coward?"  
"No I'm not a fucking coward, I'm doing this for Eren's sake, I don't want him ended up in the fucking foster system. No you are leaving and you aren't going to contact us again. Anything happens us or our friends, everyone's going to know what a sick fuck you are"  
Kenny laughed as he released Levi  
"That faggot mean that much to you?"  
"So what if he does! He deserves better than life's given him, so just fuck off already"  
Kenny raised his hands and grabbed his keys  
"Good fucking luck trying to survive without me!"  
Kenny stalked out and slammed the door behind him.

Levi curled up on the chair, his whole body was shaking, he wanted to scream. He wanted to rewind time to before he knew the truth. Instead all he could do was sit there in silence as tears ran down his face.

He was still there when Eren woke up and padded into the room.

*  
Eren could tell immediately something was wrong with Levi and he began to panic. He wanted to move over and comfort Levi but his body language was screaming "leave me alone"  
Instead all Eren could do was return back to Levi's room and crawl back into bed. He cried silent tears for his friend, hating that he didn't know how to comfort him.

Levi was already gone when Eren got up to get ready for school. He still didn't feel great, but he didn't want to be home alone... not when Kenny might come for him again. He found himself jumping at everything on the way to school. Worry burning a hole in his stomach.

The whole day passed and he heard nothing from Levi and Eren didn't know what to do. When his phone rang he pulled it out and answered without checking the ID, panicking when the man identified himself as a police officer.

The man had said he'd tried to contact Kenny first, but had been unable to reach him. Eren couldn't give him a reason, he had no clue what Kenny was up to. His heart stopped though when the officer informed him that someone had burnt his house down and a body had been found in the remains. Eren thanked the man and hung up. His was pounding and the world was spinning, still he forced himself forward, running as fast as he could to get home. He was near on panicking, opening the door he screamed Levi's name. The short dark hairs teen came running and Eren collapsed on the door step. He silently thanked god it wasn't Levi.

Levi pulled him up and helped him into the couch before sitting and pulling him close. Eren couldn't stop the tears. He kept apologising to Levi for them, the other teen making shushing noises while rubbing his back. Finally Eren calmed down enough to pull back from Levi. He noted the dark bags under his eyes and how worn out he felt. 

Eren felt so guilty for falling apart when it was clear Levi wasn't having a good day either. He pulled away completely and curled into a ball. He'd fucked up again, all he wanted to do was smoke and cut until he felt numb.  
"Eren, do you want to talk about it?"  
Eren shook his head. He didn't want to tell Levi, he didn't want Levi to think him stupid.  
"It's alright, it's just us. Kenny's gone and won't be back for a while.... probably months, at least... it's just us two again"  
Eren looked up at Levi, Levi was smiling, but his eyes looked pained. Eren lowered his head again and Levi pulled him back against him. He hated how relieved he felt now Kenny was gone. But that relief didn't last long, it meant both he and Grisha were out there. They could come for them at any minute and there would be nothing they could do. Eren dissolved into a fresh bout of sobs.

*  
Levi watched Eren cry. He didn't understand why he was so upset, the way he'd called Levi's name, had made his blood run cold. He thought Eren would be relieved Kenny was gone, but soon Eren was sobbing again and Levi didn't know what to say. All he could do was pull Eren close and let the brat cry out everything.

When Eren slumped against him Levi let him sleep, he wasn't exactly comfortable, but he didn't care.

*  
The next few weeks saw Eren begin to perk up, he started smiling and didn't seem to be so scared, Levi still slept next to him bed given that Eren suffered from nightmares. It was nearly Christmas but Eren hadn't said anything so Levi didn't know how to broach the subject. The house fire was still being investigated and Levi had even managed to get Eren to agree to another STI test, lying slightly and saying that they'd recommended it after the first. Both relieved when it came back clean.

Levi had been seriously thinking about his future, in a few short months he'd graduate and it was all approaching too fast. He didn't want to leave Eren, but he also had to think about his own future, and it wasn't as if they were dating.

It was a little early for Christmas, but Levi didn't mind and he was sure Eren wouldn't either. With Armin's help everything was set up and all Levi had to do was wait for Eren to get home. Levi had never really been a dog person, but he wanted Eren to be protected, and after a few hours researching and a few more hunting down a local breeder, he was now cuddling a hyperactive squirming German Shepard puppy. He'd been the last of his litter, shunned for his big paws, Levi found them kind of adorable and was sure Eren would too.

"Levi!"  
Levi was smirking the second he heard Eren call his name  
"In here!"  
The look on Eren's face was priceless as he walked into the room. Levi let the puppy go and he bounded happily over to Eren, its tail wagging so hard his whole body "wagging" too. Eren scooped up the puppy, laughing as the puppy started licking his face  
"Levi! You got a dog!"  
"Correction brat, I got you a dog"  
Eren stared at him completely shocked, his mouth open  
"You... got me a dog?"  
"Yep! So you gotta name him and walk him and look after him and he's not allowed to sleep on the furniture"  
Levi watched as Eren nodded slowly. The brat was too adorable. Eren moved over to the couch and sat down with the puppy, both clearly already crazy about each other.  
"Levi... why..."  
"Why'd I get you a dog? I want you to be safe when I'm not here..."  
Eren nodded and went back to playing with the puppy  
"He'd been flead and wormed, and he's had his needles"  
Eren nodded, Levi had a feeling he didn't hear a word.  
"So, Merry Early Christmas Eren"  
"Thankyou Levi, he's perfect... have you seen how big his paws are! They're adorable!"  
Levi smiled, laughing lightly  
"I thought you'd say that... got a name yet?"  
"Chronos... is that alright...?"  
"He's your dog, brat... we can go get him a tag and collar tomorrow if you want. I got food for him and some cheap bowls..."  
Eren's face lit up, Levi couldn't believe Eren could be this happy  
"Can we really? I mean I don't want to be annoying..."  
"Tch. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want to"  
"Grisha never let me have a dog, he hated them"  
"That's all the better..."

Levi watched as Eren talked to the puppy, he was falling more and more in love with him. He snapped a few covert photos and sent them through to Armin. The blonde boy replied fawning over how cute he he was, Levi had to resist telling him that they were both his and he wasn't sharing.

*  
Eren forced himself to sit still in class, all he wanted was to head home and play with Chronos. The puppy had already figured a way into the bed he shared with Levi and Levi hadn't had the heart to kick him off.

He was also excited for shopping with Levi, it was kind of like a date and he wanted to make the most of it. The pair were heading there straight from school. 

The mall was packed full of students and Eren had trouble keeping calm, he kept jumping every time someone bumped into him. He was basically hanging off Levi, but the older teen didn't seem to mind. After a quick stop at the ATM, the pair were heading into the pet store.

Eren chose a fluro green collar and lead set, and a thick black dog bed. Levi told him to chose some toys as well. $157 later the pair were out the pet shop, Eren wanted to go to an engraver and get Chronos his name tag straight away. The man, at the engravers, was kind enough to engrave both their numbers on the back of the tag.  
"We still have a little time... do you wanna grab something to eat here, or just go home?"  
Eren jumped, he wanted to stay, he wanted to sit and eat with Levi in public and just talk about random things, but at the same time he was scared.  
"It's alright, lets just go home..."  
Eren nodded, chewing on his bottom lip  
"If you want you can help me make dinner tonight?"  
Eren nodded, he'd been feeling so useless at the house, Levi did all the cooking, cleaning and helped him with his homework. 

The two left, catching a bus that would drop them close to home.

Cooking dinner with Levi turned into an experience. Eren had very little clue what he was doing, even following the recipe and Levi's instructions. Eren struggled to eat the spaghetti bolognese, but Levi was proud of him for even trying. The two did the dishes together and sat down to watch Netflix together. 

Eren spent the whole night casting glances at Levi. The teen seemed relaxed and happy, smiling every time he caught Eren's eyes.

*  
Levi sighed, in 3 days he'd turn 18. In 3 days he'd be a legal adult and he'd inherit the money from his mothers life insurance. It's seemed disgusting that at the end of the day her life was only worth $15,000. He hadn't talked to Eren about it, Eren had been struggling this last week and refused to tell him what was wrong. 

Even though he'd told Eren that Chronos was his Christmas present, Levi had a small surprise for the brat. He'd done some research on Grisha and had come across a number of article about the earthquake and subsequent house collapse that had killed his mother. Levi had saved copies of the few different photos of Carla used and had them printed and framed. 

*  
Eren was a mess, he had no idea how he was supposed to feel and act on Christmas Day, to him it'd just been another day, another day for Grisha to beat him. He'd tried to be happy for Levi's sake, given they'd both be alone, but he felt like he was drowning. 

Levi's birthday was also Christmas Day. Eren had been hunting for gifts, but nothing seemed good enough. Armin suggested a bottle of alcohol, but that seemed too impersonal. The two had been out a few times looking for gift ideas and came up with nothing. Armin suggested checking Levi's laptop when he got home.

Eren waited until Levi fell asleep before slipping out of his hold. He padded quietly over to Levi's laptop and flipped it open. He hated how he felt like he was invading the other teens privacy.

He opened amazon and went through Levi's cart. He was completely confused by the mess, games, books, DVDs and a very curious tea set. He never imagined Levi would like tea. But it oddly suited him. He messaged Armin and asked his advice, his friend agreeing to go shopping with him the next day.

Eren was still nervous as he and Armin walked through the tea shop, Armin suggested all kind of bright colours and patterns, but the one Eren ended up choosing was white with green rims. It's was simple and clean. Armin wasn't too sure about it all, but Eren loved it. He smiled broadly as he paid for it and Armin teased them all the way to the bus stop.

*  
Levi woke early on Christmas Day, he wanted to get started cooking, but wanted to wait for Eren, it'd be more special if Eren helped. He lay there watching Eren and Chronos. The puppy had clambered up while they'd been sleeping and was laying against Eren's hip. Pulling his phone out from under his pillow, snapping a quick picture of the two. He thought about sending it to Armin, but decided he wanted it for himself instead, making it his phone background. Fuck he had it bad for the brat.

Eren grumbled in his sleep and reached out for Levi. Levi pulled him close and pressed a light kiss to his hair. Best birthday wake up in a long, long time.

Eren woke not long after, blushing as he detangled himself from Levi and ordered Chronos off the bed.  
"Merry Christmas kid!"  
"I think you mean Happy Birthday..."  
Levi looked at him for a moment before quietly thanking him.

The two slid out of bed and both went to retrieve where they'd hidden each other's presents, meeting back on the bed.

"You first"  
They said in perfect unison, both smiling at the moment.  
Levi opened his gift first. The tea set was perfect, it was white and fine, rimmed with his favourite shade of green. Eren sat there looking down, like he'd done something wrong.  
"No crying on my birthday!"  
Eren looked up and Levi smiled at him.  
"So... uh... do you like it?"  
"Yeah brat, its perfect... you have good taste..."  
Levi leant in and hugged Eren, the boy awkwardly hugged him back.  
"Right, now open yours..."

*  
Eren's fingers shook as he slid the wrapping off, his eyes filled with tears. Lovingly he traced his mothers face through the glass.  
"How did you..."  
"When I was researching Grisha, I found out about your mother... I didn't mean to pry..."  
Eren shook his head  
"Grisha threw out all the photos of her... I was beginning to forget what she looked like... thankyou"  
Eren pulled the other 2 photo frames out.  
He couldn't stop his tears. He missed her so much.

Levi waited until he'd placed the frames down, before asking if he wanted to help with breakfast, Eren nodded wiping his eyes and carefully laid the photo frames down.

Levi taught him how to make pancakes for breakfast. The kitchen counter ended up covered in flour but neither cared. Both were having too much fun.

They both skipped lunch, snacking instead through the day. Eren was sure he'd never eaten so much in his life. The two were curled up watching cheesy Christmas movies and Chronos was seated by the couch. 

Eren couldn't eat dinner, though he tried. Levi made a small roast for the two of them, but even with his tiny portion it was too much. Levi didn't force him though. He didn't want Eren's day ruined by him vomiting.

Over dinner they talked about all sorts of random stupid things. Favourite colours, favourite classes, things they loved and hated. 

As Eren slid into bed with Levi that night he couldn't stop smiling. He was completely smitten with Levi. It wasn't until Levi was sleeping they he began to fall apart. He began to feel so guilt for being so happy. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve Levi's kindness. Levi had said he knew about his mothers death, but he didn't say that Eren wasn't to blame. Eren knew he was being irrational. But he still rolled over in Levi's arms and buried his face into Chronos's fur, quietly crying himself to sleep.

*  
Levi waited a few days before bringing up his idea. Without Kenny, he couldn't set up a bank account for Eren. The man still technically his legal guardian. Levi had left Eren sleeping and headed down to the bank early, opening a second bank account for himself. He wanted Eren to use this account, it'd mean he didn't have to keep sleeping with his cash hidden under the mattress.

Eren was awake by the time Levi returned. He found him playing with Chronos in the front yard. For an unwanted pup, Chronos was extremely smart, Eren had already taught him to get down and to sit.  
"Hey brat!"  
Eren looked up, beaming at him.  
"Hey, where've you been?"  
Eren's tone was light and Levi smiled  
"Come inside and I'll tell you all about it"  
Eren nodded, wrapping his arms around his waist before following Levi in.  
He tried to calm his nerves  
"It's alright, I've just got something to tell you..."  
Levi didn't like the way Eren flinched, he'd hoped they'd moved past this.  
Opening his wallet, he pulled out two bank cards. His normal one and the temporary one they'd given him for his new account. He slid the new one over to Eren, the brat eyes it suspiciously  
"Right, I already know you don't have your own bank account, and now Kenny is gone, we can't open one at the moment. I went down the bank this morning and opened a new one. It's in my name, but if you want you can use it, that way you won't have to keep stashing your cash under the bed all the time..."  
Eren nodded slowly, Levi could see the cogs turning  
"But what do I do if you kick me out, won't you want your card back"  
Levi frowned at him, he had no intention of letting Eren go, but it was too soon to tell him that  
"Eren, until we can organise something more permanent, that card is yours, I'll show you how to change the pin and everything once you get the permanent card. I won't be asking for that one back..."  
Eren nodded again  
"Can we do that soon, like deposit the money... I hate having it here..."  
Levi nodded  
"We can go now if you want to..."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah brat, go get it, we'll take Chronos for a walk too... alright?"  
Eren beamed at him and passed the card back to Levi, before retreating to the bedroom. Returning with the cash and his wallet  
"Do you want to count it? Or should I just do it when we deposit it?"  
"Um... you can do it..."  
Eren passed Levi the cash. Even though Eren had stopped selling himself a few months ago, he still had at least 3/4 of the money he'd moved in with.  
Levi stashed it in his bag, while Eren got Chronos ready, the two teens heading out slightly later.

Levi went in on his own, he smiled broadly and politely as he talked to the cashier. The woman had no problems putting the money in his new account. She didn't waste his time making small chat.

Leaving, he met Eren out the front of the building, handing the teen the deposit receipt  
$6430  
He was relieved that Eren had enough money to last him a while, even if he hated how he got it. 

Eren took the slip and placed it in his wallet, his eyes flicked briefly over the sum, but said nothing. They walked off, picking a route that would take them near the park. 

They spent an enjoyable afternoon playing with Chronos, his dopey footedness sent him sprawling a couple of times. But Levi's eyes were on Eren.

*  
It was a few weeks later when Eren relapsed badly. He'd stayed home from school, telling Levi he wasn't up to it. Levi nodded, he knew Eren was making an effort and everyone was allowed a bad day.

He'd arrived home to Chronos scratching desperately against the front door, immediately he knew something was wrong. 

Eren was curled up in the middle of their bed. Thick, angry red lines ran down his arms, and the sheets ruined by blood. Eren was still conscious, he was sobbing weakly. Levi sprang into action, immediately working on the teens wrists. The cuts had been deeper than usual, but he hadn't gone deep enough to his the veins. Levi gently wrapped Eren's wrists and began to uncurl him, the brat was clutching a empty bottle of rum against his chest. He offered no resistance as Levi pulled it away. Eren seemed to be apologising over and over, Levi's heart was breaking.

It took Eren a while to actually realise he was there, he tried to pull into a ball again, but his body didn't seem to be cooperating.

Levi left him to sleep it off, he'd moved him to the couch and stripped the bed, binning the ruined sheets.

Eren slept through until the early morning before waking up and starting to cry again. His sobs woke Levi who was dozing in the recliner. Immediately he gathered Eren to his chest.  
"I... I'm... sorry Levi... I just... I just miss her... she's dead because of me..."  
Eren dissolved back into tears  
"Eren, you keep saying that... but it's not true..."  
"She pushed me out the way... she got crushed... because she pushed me away..."  
Levi shook his head. Eren was about as much to blame for Carla's death as he was for Isabel and Farlans. He'd have to work on this with Eren, he didn't expect the rays mindset to change over night. Grisha had well and truly engrained it in Eren that he was to blame.

*  
Graduation was looming and Levi was yet to tell Eren that he was leaving after school. He'd decided on his career path. He was so scared that Eren would fall apart.

He didn't end up having the courage to until after graduation. Eren called him out on it.

Sitting down in the lounge room Levi nervously fidgeted. Finally Eren snapped at him  
"I'm... I've been accepted into the police academy..."  
Eren's eyes went comically wide  
"You know, that really suits you... I guess I'll find somewhere new to move into... do you mind me staying here until I do?"  
Levi resisted the urge to facepalm.  
"I want you to stay here Eren, I'm going to get all the locks changed, I'm going to make sure this place is completely safe..."  
"Levi... I can't... I'm not family or anything..."  
"Eren you're my friend, friends are family you chose and I want you to stay... I want you stay here with Chronos... you have Armin, you have school here... I don't want your life upended..."  
Eren nodded, moving so Chronos could jump up on him. The dog had doubled in size and showed no sign of slowing down.  
"It's 6 months and I'll try come home as often as I can... and we can call and Skype, anytime. I promise I'll answer you as soon as I can"  
Eren nodded. He didn't want to hold Levi back  
"So you'll do it? You'll stay here and stay safe"  
"Yeah... but I understand if you change your mind..."  
"It's alright, I promise I won't be kicking you out..."

*  
Eren tried to spend as much time with Levi as he could, at the same time he didn't want to hog all of Levi's time, most of his friends were moving all over the country to different universities. Instead he spent time with Armin, or sneaking out at night, sometimes he'd go to a party, but that was rarely. He only went to let his hair down, never taking pills or hooking up. We'll never taking pills unless he knew Levi wouldn't be home when he got home. He hated how good they made him feel, how numb he felt, he could ignore Levi leaving.

He clung to Levi the whole night before he left. Pressing small kissed against the sleeping mans hair. He wasn't alright, he wasn't alright at all. He didn't even realise that Levi was awake most of the night.

When Levi's alarm went off, Eren wanted to smash his phone. He wanted more time. Levi stirred in his arms and pulled him in tightly, his warm sleepy breath falling on Eren's ear as he whispered good morning.

Eren couldn't reply, it was like he forgot how to speak, instead he clung to Levi, trying his best not to cry.  
"You didn't sleep did you?"  
Eren shook his head and Levi sighed  
"You should probably try get some sleep, Erwin will be here soon..."  
Eren shook his head, he couldn't let him go, His fingers wouldn't unfurl.  
"Do you want me to make you breakfast then?"  
If Eren was honest he knew he'd just throw it all back up, still he nodded. He wanted to watch Levi cooking one more time.

Levi went to get up and Eren didn't let him go, awkwardly Levi dragged him with him, sitting him down on the couch so Eren could watch while he cooked. Eren studied his every move, he wondered if Levi was revolted by how stalkery he felt his actions were.

Eren cursed quietly when Erwin arrived, just in time for breakfast. Eren couldn't keep it together and bolted to the bathroom, vomiting up the few bites he'd eaten, he slumped over the toilet sobbing, Levi came in soon after, he pulled Eren up close to him, Eren realised that Levi had gotten dressed while he'd been vomiting, he pushed Levi away so he wouldn't smell like vomit.  
"Come on, let's get you up..."  
Levi pulled Eren up and over to the sink. Turning the tap on, he rinsed rinsed Eren's hands, and handed him his toothbrush and the toothpaste. Eren brushed his teeth, refusing to meet Levi's eyes in the mirror.

He followed Levi out the bathroom and into the bedroom. Levi pulled him into a hug before tiptoeing to place a kiss on Eren's lips. It was only a simple kiss, but Eren stopped crying and stared at him in shock  
"I'll be home soon enough... take care of yourself for me, alright Eren?"  
Eren nodded and Levi broke the hug  
"Get some sleep brat... I'll text you when we get there"  
Eren nodded and moved towards the bed, Chronos came padding into the room and jumped straight up on it , Levi crossed the room and patted the German Shepards head  
"Take care of him for me..."  
Chronos whined like he understood.

Eren climbed into the bed, he didn't want to face Erwin. He was jealous that Levi's friend was dropping him off.

Eren sobbed and sobbed until he couldn't breathe.


	2. 2

Eren didn't move from the bed for two days, he could barely bring himself to reply to Levi's texts, even after everything Grisha had done, I didn't hurt as much as Levi leaving. Chronos refused to leave his side and Eren felt guilty. Pets are supposed to be happy, but all he could do was cling to the dog and cry.

The start of school came and went, Eren couldn't bare to drag him out of bed for it. He knew he was supposed to be trying for Levi, but he just couldn't. It wasn't just Levi leaving, he was just scared. Of Chronos wasn't by his side, he couldn't even step outside. 

Levi had called Armin and his blonde friend had come to check on him. Eren had tried that day, he'd let Armin walk him to school, he tried to go to his classes, the new year meant he was even in some of the same as Armin, but all it took was one look at Jean, from a distance, to trigger a mild panic attack. He didn't tell Levi about it. He didn't tell Armin about it, only Chronos. Chronos couldn't dob him in. He'd kept the pills Kenny had given him, he rationed himself, telling himself that once a week was fine, but he compensated by drinking and smoking extra. His appetite had become practically nonexistent and his hipbones now stuck out more prominently. Armin had tried to get him to eat, but food just turned his stomach for the most part. On the days he couldn't face school, he'd clean, he didn't care if bleach made his nose bleed, he'd clean and clean until his fingers began to bleed.

Levi had been clearly shocked the first weekend he'd been able to come home. He hadn't expected to find Eren home on the Friday, he'd expected him to be at school. Eren had felt he'd completely betrayed the trust Levi had put in him and worked him into such a panic that he collapsed. Eren kept the fact he was scared to himself, telling Levi that he would get stuck in his own head, and that's why he'd forget to eat. He didn't want to fight, so he would try and eat everything Levi gave him to eat. He tried his hardest not to throw it up. Levi swapped him onto having smaller meals more frequently, it helped a little and didn't feel so pressured to complete the meal. But like all good things, the weekend was over all too soon and Levi was soon gone again.

Again Eren felt like his heart was torn out. 

His contents fatigue left him snappy and irritable, Jean finally tried to start something and it ended up with Eren's arm being broken. He spent the rest of the school day suffering in silence, he didn't tell anyone until he'd caught a bus to the hospital. They'd asked a million questions and he'd lied saying he fell down the stairs, they even called Levi over it, which had lead to another million questions from him after Eren was discharged.

He spent that night pleasantly numb, sleep coming easily and slept for a full 10 hours. His mood drastically improving. Even Chronos seemed to pick up on it, the pup bounding around the house, trying to get Eren to play with him. He text Levi and Armin to let them both know he was alright and took Chronos out to the park.

Eren had to admit the sun felt good, he laid back and let Chronos run off his lead, the puppy's big paws looked comical as he ran and he snapped a whole lot of photos on his phone, the last one was a a selfie of him and Chronos, he forwarded that one onto Levi. He didn't get an immediate reply, but figured that just meant Levi was busy. 

When they got home Chronos started acting strange, he was growling at the front door and refused to let Eren near it. Eren panicked and ran. Armin's house was the only place he could think to go, but he didn't want to take Chronos with him, so he spent the night in the park, where he'd met Levi those few times.

Chronos kept him warm and when he returned home the next day Chronos seemed to have no problems, he showered quickly and headed out to school. 

Without Levi around, Jean returned to his old ways, not even backing off after snapping Eren's arm so easily. Rumours that Eren was a druggie and prostitute did the rounds, Armin would leap to his defence, but Eren didn't say anything. He couldn't deny it and lately he'd seriously considered going back to selling himself if it meant he could get high. 

*  
Eren was having a shit day, he'd handed all his work in, but been given just as much to do again. To top it off Chronos had destroyed half the house. Angrily he shooed the dog outside and started cleaning, something felt off, like when a pictured moved from its place by a few centimetres, it wasn't a massive change, just enough to throw his senses into panic. He told himself he was being stupid, that Chronos may have knocked something down. He didn't even realise something was wrong until he was laying on the ground with his world turning grey.

*  
Levi was pissed. Not at Eren, though the fact he wasn't answering didn't help his mood. He was surrounded by idiots and feared for the world. He checked his phone, still nothing from Eren and Armin said he hadn't been at school.

Levi wanted to leave, he had no one he could trust to send to Eren's side, as far as he knew Eren hadn't confided in Armin. If Erwin wasn't on the other side of the country he would have sent him, and he didn't want to send Hanji into a potentially dangerous situation. In the end he called the police, he hated lying to them, but he told them how his uncle was out of town and he couldn't contact his friends and was concerned for his safety given his father. They promised to send someone over to check and get Eren to contact him if everything was alright.  
He didn't like it, but it was the only thing he could do. He hovered by his phone for hours.

The news wasn't good, the house was empty, Chronos and Eren both gone.

Levi wanted to drop everything and rush home, he didn't know what to do. Talking to his superior, he was allowed a weeks leave, due to extenuating circumstances. Levi hopped on the first bus home.

*  
Forensics had come and been, the house locked up. He called the local station to obtain permission to enter. They asked him to wait, there wanted him to do a walk through and point out anything that was out of place or didn't belong. 

It seemed a small eternity before the patrol car pulled up out the front. Levi forced himself to wait patiently on the step until they joined him and unlocked the door.

The first thing that hit him was a wave of loneliness, Chronos wasn't there to greet him and Eren didn't jump out like he'd secretly hoped he brat would. The next thing was the smell of bleach. He knew Eren didn't like to use bleach, but he also knew that he'd mentioned cleaning, so he didn't know if the smell was due to him or not. 

Walking inside he spun around slowly. He avoided the spots of blood on the floor, they hadn't told him about that and his blood ran cold. 

They walked through each room, but the only things missing were the three framed photos of Carla he'd given Eren. They asked him how to contact Kenny, he told them that all he had was Kenny's number and that was the same as the one they had on file. They also took down the details of Eren's phone. Given that the scene had been completely catalogued the gave Levi permission to stay in the house. 

When they left Levi slumped down on the couch. He could do nothing but cry. In his heart he knew this had to be connected to Grisha or Kenny, or worse the two of them together.

He allowed himself an hour to cry before forcing himself to his feet. He began calling around local veterinary clinics. He hit gold with the 4th call and locked the house back up before heading out.

The receptionist at the vet clinic was nice, he was young and seemed to really love animals, he explained the German Shepard had been brought in, he'd been found wandering with a broken leg.

Chronos picked up the second he saw Levi, his whole body shook as he tried to get to Levi through the cage. Levi felt like crying with relief. At least he could bring the dog home for when Eren returned. He paid the vet bill and got Chronos microchipped, Eren must have completely forgotten about getting it done. He had to organise an uber to get back home, taxis refused to take the dog.

Chronos backed and snarled at the house, Levi had to carry him up to door and in. He staggered under the weight, the dog had gotten even bigger since he'd last been home. Chronos did a lap of the house before returning to him, he seemed to be asking where Eren was. Levi patted the couch and Chronos hopped up before laying down in Levi's lap. 

*  
Eren woke coughing, there wasn't part of him that didn't hurt. He tried to force his eyes open, but the room he was in was black. He had the sickening realisation that something was very wrong. He tried to move his hands and click his fingers to call Chronos, but they seemed to be tied together, the tightness caused the cast to push up against his other arm.

He stopped his struggles and laid still, he had no idea where he was bs he wasn't going to waste his energy. There were only two people he knew who would pull this kind of shit and he didn't particularly want to see either. He scolded himself for not living his life better before now, there was little chance he'd get out of this alive and he wasn't going to delude himself about it.

He shivered as the coldness of the stone floor began to seep into his skin. He wondered where Chronos was, he hoped the dog was alright, from there his thoughts drifted to Levi, he hoped that he was alright, he hoped he didn't know that Eren was missing. It'd be better, maybe he'd eventually forget all about him. 

He heard a door creak and the smell of alcohol filled his nose, he told himself he'd never drink again if he got out of there, and then told himself there was no way he could stick to that and smiled at his own idiocy.

"Ereeen..."  
Grisha called his name in a sing song voice.  
"Hi Grisha, nice place you've got here..."  
If he was going to end up dead, he might as well go out in style.  
"Yes, nothing like what you had at Kenny's is it... I nearly died laughing when I heard you ended up in his care. Shame about that nephew of his though, who would have thought he'd actually try blackmailing him"  
"Well it worked, Kenny's been gone for months"  
"Oh Eren, he was never really gone, he'd been with me. It took a while to organise all this after all"  
"Yes I can see that"  
Eren's response was sarcastic as even with the door open it was still just as dark.  
"Always the smart arse little shit, I never understood how Carla could waste her love on you and then her life, you would have been so much better smeared across the sheets"  
Eren sighed  
"You've had months to come up with new material, and that was the best you could come up with"  
Eren heard Grishas steps move across the room before a sharp pain flared through his face. Grisha pulled back and started booting him in the stomach. Eren was sure his nose was broken again, he bit down on his lip, he didn't want to give Grisha the pleasure of him crying.  
"You'll never believe how long it took to find this place, no one will ever think to look for you here..."  
Kenny will be down soon, I want you to show him a good time"

"Grisha! Is he ready"  
Eren suppressed his whimper, Kenny's roaring question had been slurred, the man obviously drunk.  
"Yeah you can have him now!"  
Grisha kicked him again in the face before stalking out, Eren heard his steps before he finally passed out.

Eren woke screaming, Kenny's hot breath against his ear, the man fucking stunk as he moved above him.   
"That's right Eren scream for me..."  
He passed out again  
He had no idea how long for though, Kenny was still on top of him. It happened over and over. Eren begged for death. His body was beyond feeling pain, he wondered if he should be scared, but just couldn't find the effort to be.

*  
Levi sat at home, it was the last night of his leave and nothing had shown up. Armin was coming to take Chronos from him in the morning and Levi couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten or showered, he just felt so incredibly numb.

He didn't care about the academy, he didn't care about his future. He'd give up just about everything to know Eren was safe. Everything except his life. It made some kind of weird sense, if he died he'd never know if Eren was alright.

*  
It was the rumbling that woke Eren, the ground was shaking like an earthquake and bits of rock gently rained down on him. He was beyond scared, he was going to die here, in this unknown place, alone. He'd die just like his mother. He tried to move but couldn't feel his body, his mouth tasted like blood and that was all he could smell. He wanted to cry, this was how things should have been all along.

*  
The demolition team had no idea he was still in the house, the basement to be precise, they'd been ensured the site was clear and the wrecking ball swung free.

It wouldn't be until two days later that the body of an unknown male was discovered in the rubble. His body badly managed and broken. Killed execution style, that was the official report. 

After the body was discovered the site was shut down, forensics brought in to sweep the scene. 

Levi was pulled out from training, he was confused and no one would tell him what was going on, not until he was lead to an interview room, two detectives were waiting inside, his heart sank, his knees nearly giving out as he took a seat across from them. The news was like ripping off a bandaid, the pain sharp and momentary before fading, he wondered if he should feel more, given everything that had happened between them. Kenny Ackerman was dead.

He sat there processing, not even realising that one of them had stepped out to take a phone call, Eren Yeager had been discovered.

He snapped out of his head, realising that they were repeating his name, he forced himself to focus. Finally their words sunk in  
"Eren Yeager was alive"  
Levi could have cried from relief.

*  
Any relief he felt crumbled away when he saw Eren laying in hospital. The rhythmic sound of the ventilator, the only sound. Levi could hear his own heart beating, it was like a sick song. He fell into the chair by the bed and reached for Eren's hand, but stopped short. Eren inch of Eren's beautiful sun kissed skin was bruised, he had no idea how Eren was even still alive. He'd died in the ER twice, and now they weren't even sure if he'd wake up.

The weeks drew on and the bruises faded, Eren still didn't wake. Levi through himself back into training at the academy. Grisha was still out there and Levi was determined he wouldn't get away. He'd bring Grishas crime to light, the dead body in Eren's old house, the death of Kenny and the physical and mental torture he'd inflicted on Eren. Eren deserved better than the love of a killer.

Levi's graduation came and went, he'd moved back home and taken managed to get a job. He didn't even care that he was almost invisible on the totem pole. Everything he did, he did to make Eren proud.

4 months. 4 months, 16 days. That's how long it took until Eren finally awoke. Another 2 days before he was coherent enough to register that Levi was even there. He was confused and agitated and Levi couldn't blame him. It'd taken many long hours before Eren relaxed enough to actually believe he was real.

Every chance Levi got he'd visit Eren, he worked hard to get legal custody of him and fought with every breath to help him recover. Eren in return worked just as hard, counselling and physiotherapy. He did whatever they asked of him. His left leg had been damaged in such a way that he'd never be able to walk without a limp again. Levi sat by his side, telling him softly over and over that he'd stay by his side. Sometimes they'd share small kisses, Levi never pressured for anything more, but the hope seemed to keep Eren going.

*  
Eren was finally released from hospital, after what he deemed, far too long. Chronos refused to leave his side. He partially filled Armin in on some details, leaving out a majority. Instead telling him simply that his father beat him. Armin was horrified, but mostly grateful that Eren had survived. Though he also feared that Grisha was still out there and that Eren was still in danger. Eren hated the burden he'd placed on his friends shoulders.

He also felt guilty Armin had been left at school alone for so long. It wasn't like the blonde boy didn't have other friends, but school was always better with your best friend. Given how much school he'd missed, he started homeschooling. Armin would come by after school on weekends and sometimes after school when he could. He was a tough task master, but Eren wasn't going to let Grisha ruin his future. Not now, not when Armin and Levi were so invested. They were his reason to live.

.*  
Work had been shit, Levi had been stuck directing traffic all damn day and he wanted nothing more than to see Eren. He stopped for Chinese on the way home, it was a thing that he and Eren had started doing weekly. Eren hadn't even heard of half the things Levi felt he should, so he'd made it their kind of date night.

Eren was slumped over his homework, drooling as he snored quietly.  
Levi smiled, they weren't dating, nothing more than a few small kisses had passed, but he couldn't get enough of Eren. Carefully he slid the brats homework free, carefully leaving it open on the page he was on.  
"Eren..."  
Eren sat up slowly, stretching.   
"Le... vi...?"  
"Yeah brat... have a nice nap?"  
Eren nodded and Levi leant in giving him a small kiss, Levi loved the way Eren blushed.

"I brought Chinese for dinner..."  
Eren raised his eyebrows  
"Don't worry, you should like it... pinky promise"  
"Right, I'll hold you to it"

Levi laughed at Eren's foodgasm. The sound of his moan went straight to his dick and he scolded himself internally. He wanted more with Eren, to make this thing official, like Facebook official. But then again Eren didn't have any social media accounts...

*  
Eren yawned tiredly, he'd studied until all the letters and numbers blurred into one. He'd wanted to get everything competed before Levi got home. But apparently he'd fallen asleep and Levi had woken him up for dinner. 

He had no idea how late it was, Levi's kiss had perked him up a bit and the smell from the takeout was kind of interesting. He pecked something randomly, hesitantly dropping it into his mouth, he moaned, it was good. Really, really good. Levi told him about his day while Eren nodded and listened, he didn't envy him at all. Even school work was better than directing traffic all day.

Levi washed the dishes while Eren prepared the bed and brushed his teeth. Eren climbed in first, his arms wide open for Levi to climb into. He hated how good looking Levi was in his uniform, he was almost sad when Levi stripped it off, but he looked better in his boxers. This was a sight he didn't have to share. 

Given that Levi had had the shittier day, Eren pulled him down so Levi's head rested on his chest. This small practice had started when Eren first got out of hospital, he used to wake up and screaming, Levi would hold him close to his chest and he'd listen to his heartbeat until he calmed and would drift back to sleep.  
Eren pressed a kiss to Levi's head, his eyes drifting closed.  
"... love... you... Levi..."  
"Love you too brat"


End file.
